


Give a Little Luck

by if_youhaveghosts



Category: Dangan Ronpa
Genre: Developing Relationships, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Multi, Slice of Life, TW: Drugs, but there will still be plenty of despair, long fic, regular high school life AU, so many super high school level parties, tw: alcohol, tw: language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-17
Updated: 2015-04-14
Packaged: 2018-01-16 02:50:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 9
Words: 48,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1329100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/if_youhaveghosts/pseuds/if_youhaveghosts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Super High School Level Luck" Naegi Makoto is possibly the most unlucky student at Hope's Peak Academy. Failing to live up to his title, Naegi has one semester to prove himself before he is expelled.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Lucky Naegi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet the most unlucky student.

Needless to say, her dorm room was a mess.

Fuzzy pink blankets and pillows in cartoon bunny pillowcases were thrown in a heap on the bed. Notebooks and textbooks littered the floor while a case of hot curlers, some cup noodles, an assortment of chocolates and stuffed animals were filed alphabetically in the bookcase. Clothes were simply everywhere; there was not an inch of the generous dorm space unoccupied by a piece of clothing.

Enoshima Junko couldn't even see the ground.

All that was clean was her desk, which sported a pink laptop and a beat up desk lamp in the opposite corner. Her desk chair was adorned with thigh high socks and panties dangling off the arms.

She lived in absolute devastation. Which, to be fair, could only be expected of the Super High School Level Despair (the brand names and lingerie were courtesy of her alternate title: Super High School Level Fashion Girl).

The semester was new and she had much work ahead of her. Orientation had been very informative. Use of the word "hope" at least twelve times during the headmaster's speech made her want to barf; each utterance was like a spear in her heart. She had enjoyed the despair. Above all, though, the opportunity to scope out her fellow classmates was a fabulous introduction to life at Hope's Peak.

A room full of such bright hope was fertile soil for the most crushing despair to bloom. There was nothing like the classical tragedy of a fall from grace.

 

♥♡♥

 

Missing from the orientation of Hope's Peak Academy's Seventy-Eighth Class was a boy with the extraordinary luck to have fallen asleep at the bus stop.

He was Naegi Makoto, Super High School Level Luck. On the most important day of his life, the six AM bus through his hometown en route to Hope's Peak Academy zipped through the early morning streets while one Naegi Makoto napped silently in his hoodie. He dreamt of arriving at his new high school, confident and proud (and possibly a couple inches taller). He dreamt of being surrounded by friends, of walking to class with a pretty girl, of school dances and internships and fitting in with the unrivaled elite. He dreamt that he, Naegi Makoto, belonged at such a prestigious institution.

That dream was striking in contrast to the harsh reality of the empty street, the time on his cell phone seeming to indicate he was in another dimension than the one he remembered--this being the dimension where he was on time for the bus. Reality struck him hard.

He scrambled over to an information desk at the station and inquired after the next one. His heart sank.

The next bus left at three.

His orientation began at ten AM sharp, which was already rapidly approaching.

Without his own means of transport, he was stuck. There was nothing to do now but to wait, disheartened and alone, and worried for what issues might be caused by his absence.

Naegi was crestfallen, but he wouldn't panic yet.

 

 ♥♡♥

 

It was six thirty PM by the time he arrived at Hope's Peak Academy and retrieved his eHandbook from the main office. He stood in front of the door to his room with his travel bag slumped over his shoulder. He was exhausted. The whole day had turned into one gigantic disappointment, not to mention a hassle and a half.

 _Classes start tomorrow, though._ He thought. _I'm sure I won't get into too much trouble for missing orientation... I'll just ask around and figure out what's up..._

Naegi decided he would just put some of his things away, take a shower, and rest up. No harm, no foul. Tomorrow was a new day.

He was feeling a lot better until he discovered the bathroom door was stuck.

 

 ♥♡♥

 

By mid day the next day, Naegi Makoto would have been lying if he said he wasn't panicking at least a little bit. He sat down on the steps in the courtyard after the first round of classes, his heart heavy. To describe him as discouraged would be an understatement.

_What am I doing here...?_

Despondent thoughts floated around like clouds of dust. Conflicted thoughts, too, as he tried to motivate himself to feel differently. He was so far failing, which was cause for particular distress when he counted optimism as his only redeeming quality.

_This was all some kind of mistake... "Luck" isn't even a talent... some luck I have..._

The shoe had been on the wrong foot from the get-go. Yesterday's disaster aside, he had trekked to the Registration Office first thing in the morning to pick up the class schedule his peers had received during orientation. The woman at the desk ignored him for at least five minutes before consenting to rifle through some paperwork. She answered several phone calls in between filing cabinets. After many assertions that he must have already gotten his schedule and misplaced it, she was able to look up his information and print him a new one.

This schedule was apparently new to all of his teachers, too, because each class he showed up in directed him to a different one. In one case it took him three tries before he found the room where his name was actually on the roster. The professors regarded him with disdain before appointing him a seat and marking him tardy on their attendance lists.

As if this spectacle of trying to properly locate himself wasn't humiliating enough, there then came the obligatory round of introductions.

In each class on the first day, the students of Hope's Peak were asked to introduce themselves to their classmates and to speak briefly about their aspirations at the Academy. In first period, Literary Traditions, Naegi felt awkward and embarrassed. Naturally of a pleasant and optimistic demeanor, he explained that he had never expected to come to Hope's Peak and that he hoped he would enjoy his experience and be inspired to figure out what he would like to do.

In any normal school, this would have been a perfectly acceptable answer, short and sweet. At Hope's Peak, his response was regarded with confusion and disdain. Even teachers paused and in one case a disgruntled professor even blurted out, "Excuse me?" All of his peers had made remarkable statements... a lifelong dream to be a world renowned surgeon... the youngest in a line of formidable businessmen, destined to carry on their legacy, already attending business meetings at his father's side... an Olympic swimmer... receptions of scholarships for outstanding performance in theater and art, even from students with humble origins such as himself, but with promising futures... They all looked at him with bewilderment and even shock. What was this clueless, run-of-the-mill bum doing here?

By his fourth class of the day, Naegi was so embarrassed he considered doing something he never did: lying. Even though there were some students present whom he had already been in class with, throughout the role call he convinced himself of a hopelessly pitiful speech about how he intended to study international relations and receive a Nobel Peace Prize. Maybe his cheerful personality could sell them on it, even though in his own head it seemed childish and ridiculous (though admittedly, other students had already touted aspirations of something similar). But even to Naegi Makoto, the notion of himself doing such a thing was bogus.

Either way, when the teacher read off his name in the one class he was relieved to have made it to on time for, he fumbled over his words and told the truth. He had never been good at lying. And after introducing himself this time, he sank back into his chair completely red-faced with his head down, locking his eyes on his feet under his desk. He couldn't bear to see the reception of the class.

After a ten second period of silence that stung like knives, the professor moved on to a girl behind him. His thoughts were such a jumbled mess he didn't even hear who she was, but as the class progressed he was vaguely aware that she seemed to be studying him intently. Or maybe she was just lost in thought, using the back of his head as a random point to zone out while looking like she was paying attention to the teacher. Either way, this notion only heightened his shame. He assumed everyone was probably looking at him in this way. It felt despairingly pathetic.

Sitting outside now, he could breathe a little bit. He inhaled the fresh air, his eternal optimism coming home to roost. It was only his first day. First days were usually awful, right? It would get better. If anything, it definitely couldn't get any worse.

He checked his phone and realized he had only a half hour left of his break between classes. His stomach rumbled; he should get something to eat.

Then came the terrible realization that he had forgotten his wallet. He panicked for a moment that it was lost, but his doubt was satisfied by the distinct mental image of it resting on the dresser in his dorm. He had been so anxious for class that he had looked over his room half a dozen times to make sure he didn't forget anything.

Yet here he was starving, the wallet still stranded in that mental thought bubble burned in his brain.

He sighed, completely defeated. There was absolutely no way he could go and get it and still have enough time to eat.

He kicked a rock down the steps and pouted.

"Hey'a, little dude!"

Naegi turned around to see a tall boy with messy hair and a half unbuttoned dress shirt. His tie was loose, the knot improperly done to begin with, and he wore baggy pants that slouched in an obvious size too big. The boy's jacket was slung over his shoulder and his armful of beaded bracelets jingled as he walked. A necklace of woven hemp and chunks of rock rested on his chest.

"Uhh... me?" Naegi, dumbfounded.

"Yeah you, nugget!" The boy sauntered over and sunk down onto the step beside Naegi with such careless grace it seemed he did the same thing every day.

"Uhh... nugget? I'm sorry, I don't think we've met..."

"You really are a misfit here, huh?"

The stranger leaned back against the upper step, arms outstretched.

"What?"

"I was in one of your classes today. Maybe even more than one, they all seem the same, I don't remember." He scratched the bushy mane of dreads that were so dirty they seemed to be sculpted onto his head.

"But yeah, there was some strange, y'know... speed bump... in the whole stereotypical student interview stuff we all gotta go through, to be like, all impressive and junk... and I remember looking up and being like, why's everybody so upset about this dude?"

He gave a massive shrug and that seemed to be all he had to offer as he shook his head and gazed off into the distance.  
Naegi was at a loss for words.

"Um, yeah... er, dude." He didn't know how to continue this conversation.

A misfit? Naegi honestly agreed he didn't really belong at Hope's Peak, especially after today, but it was still odd coming from this one who looked like he hadn't showered in two days. Or do his laundry. Still, Naegi did his best to be cordial.

"My name's Naegi Makoto. What's yours?"

"Bond. James Bond." The boy laughed and shuffled around in his pockets for a cigarette and a lighter. At least, Naegi thought it was a cigarette.

"Just kidding, pal. I'm way better looking than James Bond. Hagakure Yasuhiro. Smoke?" He lit the joint carelessly and inhaled before offering it up to Naegi.

"Uh, n-no, no thanks." Naegi gave a nervous chuckle and waved his hands in front of him. "I don't smoke."

Hagakure looked flabbergasted.

"It's not a cigarette, dude! That's gross." He was repulsed. "Cigarettes smell bad, man! And they're totally bad for your health! This is good stuff! I grow my own, you know!"

The situation suddenly became clear to Naegi and his jaw dropped.

"You're smoking weed!?"

"You say it like I'm doing drugs!"

"At school!?"

"He is, and he should probably be less obvious about it."

The speaker seemed to appear out of nowhere, stepping down from behind them and casting a wildly disapproving glance at Hagakure's misshapen state. This boy was striking juxtaposed against Hagakure. He was dressed sharply with clothes that were in all likelihood tailor made for him. He sported a sharp black jacket, black slacks and a crisp white dress shirt topped off with a plaid bowtie. He wore cleanly cut glasses that suited his face shape, which was also framed by his carefully styled blonde hair. The two couldn't be more opposite.

_These two are friends?_

"Togami! Just the man I wanted to see!" Hagakure grinned, announcing his friend's entrance loudly, eliciting a few curious glances from groups of students lounging around the courtyard.

Hagakure patted the step next to him.

"Come share this joint with me, O, Mighty One!"

 _Right, Togami Byakuya._ Naegi remembered him as the young entrepreneur who had introduced himself as the sole heir to the Togami Conglomerate. Watching this boy react in a quasi-normal high school setting made Naegi disoriented.

"Idiot. You are causing a scene. This is not the time and place for this."

"Seriously, dude? Come on, what's the big deal..." he went to take another drag and in an instant Togami snatched up the joint and put it out against a railing before tossing it into a patch of well-groomed shrubbery.

"WHAT THE HECK, MAN!?" Hagakure scrambled to his feet, eyes wide. "That was perfectly good weed!"

It looked as though he was going to jump into the bushes after it.

Togami was completely unfazed.

Hagakure clenched his fists and glared at him.

"You better pay me for that, dude! My prices aren't cheap!"

"Is that even necessary?"

It was clear to Naegi that Togami was referring to the ludicrous notion he would not reimburse Hagakure for the confiscated drugs. Or perhaps criticizing Hagakure for protesting at all.

Either way, Naegi couldn't fault him for calling out Hagakure's unruly behavior, even if he was being rude.

"What a huge waste! See how this guy treats me, nugget!?" Hagakure exclaimed, glancing back at Naegi while pointing an accusatory finger at Togami.

"Best, best--super best!--friends. And he casts my hard work aside without a single thought."

He turned back to the boy who was his complete opposite.

"Heartless!"

"You wound me."

"Bastard."

Togami ignored him.

"What are you doing here?" Togami finally addressed Naegi.

"I--I was just uh, hanging out?" Naegi panicked. "Just, uh, taking in the scenery."

"There is no scene here. You may go."

"No! I--I didn't mean it like that, that you were causing a scene. I meant, I was sitting here, looking at the garden--"

Togami stared at Naegi with complete disinterest. It wasn't difficult for Naegi to realize that his explanation had been entirely irrelevant.

"I don't remember saying that I care. Just go."

Naegi blushed, rising and floundering with his schoolbag when Hagakure pulled him back.

"Yo, don't let this cocky bastard here bully you, nugget! You have a right to chill here just as anybody else does."

Naegi was stunned and tried to muster up a response when Togami turned his back.

"We're leaving, Hagakure."

"Yeah, yeah, I know..." He released Naegi's arm and shuffled off after Togami. "See ya, new friend."

They walked away, Togami leading with a sophisticated stride, Hagakure shuffling after.

_This is a strange, strange school... But, I guess I made a friend?_

He wasn't so sure about that, but it was a day for counting his blessings.

Girls were relaxing in the sun with their books. Guys were kicking a football, or standing around checking the girls out. Groups of friends were laughing. Perhaps this was normal?

Realizing that it must be time for class now, Naegi gathered up his things and made his way into the appropriate school building, his stomach whining like a begging dog. He lamented the forgotten wallet.

When he pushed open the double doors into the hallway, he became aware of a curious smell. He made a disgruntled face, trying to discern the source of the scent.

His jacket smelled like pot.

He took it off, disgusted, and sighed up at the ceiling.

What a terrible day.

 

♥♡♥

 

Tumbling from hope into despair was romantic. It was the kind of misfortune poems were written about before rowing out to sea in a storm.

Living her whole life as nothing but a lackluster disappointment, Ikusaba Mukuro did not fall into despair.

She was born into it.


	2. Twins of Hope's Peak

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two dastardly plots are revealed; one for science?, one for despair.

Despite being the daughter of the headmaster, absolutely nothing about Hope's Peak Academy interested Kirigiri Kyouko. She wasn't interested in her studies. She wasn't interested in joining any clubs. She wasn't interested in her tennis tournaments, even though she had learned to play when she was five years old and competed in several well-publicized events at her family's country club over the years. She wasn't interested in her classmates. She couldn't care less about making friends or falling in love. Social gatherings were just another opportunity to examine her environment.  
  
Ultimately, all that interested Kirigiri Kyouko was unraveling the riddles of the world.  
  
Her family name itself meant more to her than the money and fame that went along with it. She descended from a long line of detectives. Her grandfather, Kirigiri Fuhito, was a legendary man, familiar only to those well connected enough to come in contact with him. Even then, communication was likely at least three degrees removed, for not just anyone was allowed to speak with him directly. His name alone commanded solemnity and respect; to simply know of it was a mark of the truly elite.  
  
This man was also, in her mind, her true father. He was the one who raised her. He was the one who taught her everything she knew. He was the one who watched her grow up, play with her, praise her, and scold her when needed.  
  
Kirigiri Kyouko's real father, Kirigiri Jin, the headmaster of Hope's Peak, had abandoned her when she was small. Although now that she attended his school he tried to create a relationship with her, she did nothing but respond to him with ice. Or not respond to him at all.  
  
He called her at least once a week, sometimes twice. She never picked up. How he had even gotten her number she did not know, and assumed with biting derision that he probably hired a personal investigator to find it, since he couldn't perform such an act himself. She was currently in negotiations with the phone company to have her number changed.  
  
Her neglect of him was his fault. He could have chosen to assume his role as a detective instead of relieving himself of the burden of his family name. He could have remembered that her birthday was October sixth instead of October sixteenth. He could leave her a voice message when he heard the beep. But, just like the birthday cards that were always a week too late, the phone calls were empty envelopes without a message inside. In the end, he had nothing to offer.  
  
She could feel badly about it, but at this point in her life, Kirigiri Kyouko didn't care.  
  
She was sixteen and already a successful detective in her own right, boasting the highest class ever obtained by one her age. She was sixteen and tremendously wealthy, hailing from old money accrued over generations of professional detective work, their family records dating back to the eighteenth century. She was sixteen and extraordinarily intelligent, known for her unparalleled deductive abilities. She was sixteen and heartbreakingly beautiful.  
  
She didn't care.  
  
School promised to keep her busy, but Kirigiri's spare time had always been dominated by extensive research. When she wasn't able to be in the field herself, she was reading case files about serial killers, drug busts, acts of terrorism, kidnappings, local crime... anything she could to feel connected to her family name, to her destiny. To feel connected to her beloved grandfather. Detective work was the only thing she felt passionate about.  
  
After all, her whole life since she was a child was about uncovering secrets, beginning first with those of the mysterious adults who surrounded her. When her mother was still alive, Mrs. Kirigiri and her father would drink expensive liquor and get into expensive fights. They would talk cryptically on their phones, disappearing various nights and coming home as unannounced as they left. It was as if no one occupied the house--no one but a precocious little girl who spent her time alone, inspecting every inch of the property.  
  
Her parents had caused nothing but petty drama for her; they kept petty secrets. Nonetheless, she knew them all. She had discovered them all. Nothing could get past her keen sense of observation and critical thinking. The world was like a magnifying glass, and people mere mists of fog.  
  
While she was sitting alone having lunch by the garden, her phone rang. She hoped for a second that it was her grandfather, calling from Paris. It would be so good to hear his voice.  
  
She checked it and immediately tossed the phone aside, ignoring her father once again.  
  
Kirigiri Kyouko didn't care.

♥♡♥

After depositing his jacket in his locker, Naegi arrived at Biology. He was on time. Perhaps his luck was starting to get a little better; this classroom was the correct one.  
  
Separate tables designated for two students apiece were staggered along the clean tile of the room. Fluorescent lights bathed everything in a sickly yellow hue. Quite frankly, the classroom looked like a hospital. Naegi felt a little sick thinking about it as he took a seat at an empty table in the back of the class. Or maybe he was just hungry.  
  
One by one students filtered in. He watched them in silence, stifling a dejected, jealous creature that had curiously taken up residence within him, brooding over the impressive appearance of the others. In some cases, it was obvious what they were known for, like the flashy and scantily clad Super High School Level Fashion Girl with the fluffy blonde pigtails who sat in front of him in Algebra. (He already knew he would need tutoring in this subject, as he couldn't even see the board.) Others weren't as easy to guess; nonetheless, they gave off an aura of specialness that was hard to define. It was like a supernatural force radiated off of each of the Super High School Level students.  
  
Well, most of them. With less than a minute left, his self-proclaimed new friend Hagakure Yasuhiro stumbled in and flopped into the only remaining seat, stationed in the front of the room next to a very timid girl who shivered at the sudden whoosh of human contact. She was so fragile the poor thing looked like she could've been carried off by the wind generated from Hagakure's clumsy seat. Naegi was certain she lifted at least half an inch out of her chair. Neither Hagakure nor the shy girl looked particularly spectacular in that moment.  
  
A cheerful brunette with her hair twisted into a ponytail took a seat next to him.  
  
"Hi! I'm Asahina Aoi!" This girl was clearly outgoing and energetic, and the change from the coldness he had previously received was striking.  
  
"Hey." He smiled weakly before averting his gaze. He was perhaps a little timid himself after the day's harrowing events.  
  
It was then that Hagakure turned around and gave him a lazy wave. It felt nice to be acknowledged without prompt like that. Between him and Asahina, Naegi was starting to feel like he existed for the first time that day. He waved back.  
  
The teacher looked up from her notes. She had an off-putting, mousy face.  
  
"Well, class, I'm sure you've been through this many times today, but I would like to know a little more about each of you. Your talents are always so fascinating. You wouldn't believe some of the abilities that have come in here throughout the years."  
  
Introductions passed. Naegi was numb to it this time; he didn't let the harsh judgment get to him. A girl in long braids and glasses snickered when it was his turn to speak, but he paid her no mind.  
  
"She's weird, anyway." Asahina whispered to him.  
  
Not long after this exchange, he heard muffled munching coming from somewhere beside him.  
  
Asahina Aoi had a small paper bag hidden under the desk and was sneaking bites of miniature donuts. He couldn't control himself from gazing longingly at her as she ate the pastry. He felt like a wild, hungry wolf.  
  
She caught on to him and flinched away for a moment before realizing he wasn't being a creep. At least, not in the perverted way. The look in his eye was more of a homeless child peering in on Christmas dinner.  
  
"D'you wan'a donut?" She whispered. She was still chewing her food in what she thought was an inconspicuous manner.  
  
Yes, he did want a donut.  
  
"Please?" He squeaked.  
  
Asahina smiled brightly and handed him a small powdered treat under the table. She watched him inhale it and giggled.  
  
"Here, you can have the rest." She passed him the bag.  
  
His eyes practically watered with thankfulness, and he was overcome by the generous offering of friendship. The gods of luck had blessed him at long last. He savored the sugary prize.  
  
"Excuse me, chit-chatters over there." The teacher glared at them. "I don't recall your names yet, but you're on a fast track to forcing me to memorize them by writing you both a detention slip."  
  
Asahina blushed. Naegi was just thankful she didn't take his donuts.  
  
The rest of class went by without a hitch. As he gazed out the window a ray of light gleamed off something soft and silvery in the classroom, catching his eye. This mysterious subject was revealed to be a strand of hair belonging to a very pretty girl with a stoic face. She wore a neat headband and a cable-knit sweater over a button-up paired with a short, grey skirt and knee high socks. A single section of long, almost lilac-colored hair was woven into a braid while the rest hung naturally. He kind of liked that.  
  
Naegi was shocked he had never noticed her until now. For such an attractive girl, she clearly had a talent for blending into the background like an apparition. Perhaps it was because she was so quiet. Come to think of it, maybe he had seen her earlier. He couldn't be sure. She had a face like that, he decided as he studied her, one that always looked different, like something had changed, either to the viewer or to her. For the rest of the class, he couldn't stop staring.  
  
The bell rang, and immediately Asahina stretched and let out a loud sigh.  
  
"That sure was a snooze fest! I can't wait to get to the pool!"  
  
"Oh, right. You're a Super High School Level Swimmer, aren't you?" Naegi turned his attention to her.  
  
"That's right!" She beamed. "And you ate all my donuts."  
  
He blushed.  
  
"I--I'm sorry! You gave me the rest!"  
  
Asahina laughed.  
  
"I know! I'm just teasing!" Her cheerful face dropped for a moment. "Er--you're gonna hate me--but what's your name again? I'm awful with names."  
  
She twiddled her thumbs.  
  
"That's okay." He had relaxed into an easy grin. "I actually didn't tell you. It's Naegi Makoto. Thank-you so much for the snacks. I was really starving."  
  
"Don't worry about it. I'm glad to have you as a lab partner! You're really sweet. I was so worried when I found out Sakura didn't have this class that I'd end up stuck with some jerk like that Togami guy."  
  
Naegi didn't really blame her. Based on his brief encounter with the disdainful Togami Byakuya, he wouldn't want to be his lab partner, either.  
"I'm glad, too."  
  
He immediately remembered what had his attention before the end of class and turned to look over his shoulder at the window seats, but the beautiful girl was already gone. He sighed.  
  
"So, are you any good at Biology?"  
  
"Nope!" Asahina's grin was carefree and kind, and in a few moments she exited the room, leaving Naegi alone.

♥♡♥

A girl hovered above the staff conference room, located on the upper floor of the West school building. No, not like a ghost, or a bat, or a master puppeteer bending over a cardboard theater, twisting puppet strings. She hovered above like a young detective who had climbed into a ceiling vent to peer inquisitively through the open slats at an explicitly private conversation.  
  
This is exactly what Kirigiri Kyouko had done. As soon as the bell rang signaling the end of Biology class, into the claustrophobia-inducing vent she had crawled on her hands and knees. Aged dust stained her white knee socks. Her skirt fell around her waist, leaving her panties completely exposed, but, being in the bizarre location she was, there was no one to see. She wished she had put her hair back into a bun as she struggled with long pieces continually falling in front of her face. She kept brushing them away, frustrated, wisps of hair becoming coated in lip-gloss and making sticky marks on her gloves.  
  
In the conference room, members of the Steering Committee were having a serious conversation. Also present was the headmaster, her father. She thought about scooping up some dust bunnies and dropping them on his head through the thin apertures in the vent, but she couldn't get caught.  
  
Alternating voices from various elderly men, agitated and droning, echoed across the room.  
  
"…There is not enough information… pass judgment…"  
  
"…In the foreseeable future…"  
  
"…Enough of… your childish jokes…"  
  
"…The important issue now is…"  
  
She strained to hear, biting her lip.  
  
"…Good… in the same environment as each other… measure… effects of interference…"  
  
"…More control…"  
  
"…There are the ethics… situation… need to consider…"  
  
"…Haven't told them… no knowledge…"  
  
"…Wouldn't be right…"  
  
She cursed silently to herself. Inside the vent, the voices were metallic and muffled, so she couldn't make out even a single complete sentence. Without a concrete discovery, or at least a lead, her spying would be useless.  
  
She pressed an ear to the small holes, and one of the several silver necklaces wrapped about her neck clinked against the metal. She recoiled instantly and pressed her back to the wall, shuffling away from the slats.  
  
"…Damned rats… reputation…"  
  
"…Focus, the purpose…"  
  
Her breath caught as she peered through the gaps at a distance. She could see her father still looking up at the ceiling. She told herself that he couldn't have seen her.  
  
"…Kirigiri… not taking this seriously… after all, your idea…"  
  
At that moment her cell phone buzzed. She took it out. The alarm she had set to signal the beginning of her next class went off, humming dejectedly in her dusty gloved hand. Gritting her teeth, she turned back.  
  
The Steering Committee was acting suspicious. She was aware of this since orientation, when she observed several Committee members signaling for her father from behind the stage in the auditorium. Apparently, it was important enough to interrupt his speech, for he coughed nervously and excused himself for almost a full ten minutes. She had slid out of her seat then and snuck out to the back of the auditorium, looking for the entrance on the opposite end of the stage. But by the time she had navigated her way in, the conversation had ended.  
  
What she just witnessed confirmed her suspicions. Something was going on at Hope's Peak. The way they referred to their plans made it sound like some kind of experiment. There was a question of morality involved, which led her to conclude that whatever was going on definitely wasn't something standard. That made it also likely unsafe.  
  
And, most troubling of all, whatever they were up to was her father's idea.  
  
She pondered this as she shuffled her way back through the vent. The passage ended at the back of the storage room. She checked to make sure no one was around--which they usually weren't--and carefully climbed out, using the shelves as a ladder.  
  
Her socks were ruined. She headed to her locker to change them for a clean pair she had in her gym bag, meant to be changed into after tennis practice. Deeming the dirty socks beyond salvation, she condemned them to the trash barrel. She would buy more this weekend when she went shopping, even though she was sure she had plenty already, still in their packaging. With the new investigation she had begun on the secret experiment of Hope's Peak, there would be no time to spare looking through her unnecessarily vast collection of clothing.  
  
Kirigiri Kyouko supposed it was a waste, but she didn't care.

♥♡♥

"You really should clean in here."  
  
A fussy Ikusaba shuffled her way into her little sister's room later that day. Several suitcases and a gigantic black and white teddy bear standing guard above the trash had blocked off the door. The trained soldier navigated her way in and shut the door with impossible quietness. She kicked an empty pizza box aside, the puzzle pieces accidentally shifting to crumple the teddy bear into a heap. Ikusaba picked it up and patted it before tiptoeing across the mess on the floor.  
  
The dorm really was in a state of disgrace.  
  
 _She would never last in Fenrir._ Ikusaba sighed.  
  
It occurred to her, however, that if there were ever to be a battle between Enoshima and the military, Enoshima Junko would find a way to win it.  
  
The younger, decidedly blonder twin sat at her desk, pouring over a shabby little notebook. The strangest things intrigued her sister sometimes. But that was Junko--you never knew exactly what was going on in her head.  
  
Ikusaba dropped the stuffed toy by her feet.  
  
"Are those some notes from class?" She draped herself over her sister's shoulder and peered down at the messy scrawl.  
  
Enoshima stuck her tongue out at her twin and shoved her away.  
  
"Don't be dumb. What does class even matter in the long run, anyway, Mukuro, when you're old and miserable?"  
  
She was more agitated than normal and it showed on her face, her delicate blue eyes turning heavy and hard. She was about to go off on one of her inspired tangents.  
  
"When you're in true despair, your life falls apart. You start drinking heavily. You don't focus on work. You abuse your family and your friends. You might buy an expensive car you can't afford or gamble away your mortgage and then drive that expensive car off a bridge. You feel like you're grasping at life with your last breath."  
  
She took a deep breath of her own then, as if to illustrate her words or because she was getting worked up, Ikusaba couldn't tell.  
  
"It's so amazing! It's amazing how this world works, isn't it? The levels of despair that are possible are absolutely invigorating!"  
  
Enoshima's philosophical analysis had begun in a voice that resembled a scholarly psychologist reading a thesis and ended in a bout of a mentally ill patient's hysteria.  
  
"An education means nothing, Mukuro, when it comes down to life and death. You of all people should know this. Are you a Super High School Level Soldier or aren't you? Are you really that useless at your occupation?"  
  
There was no contesting the statements of Enoshima Junko. Her sister had always had that effect on people. Even if they were disgusted with what she was saying, no one could say that she was wrong.  
  
Ikusaba shifted gears.  
  
"Well, you wrote a lot in your notebook. What did you put in there if you didn't take notes?"  
  
"How did you get so incredibly dense, Mukuro? Maybe you were dropped on your head as a baby. You did cry a lot."  
  
"How do you remember that?"  
  
Enoshima ignored her and continued on with her speech. Ikusaba was used to this.  
  
"If you paid attention to anything I said, ever, you would know that these are plans. Plans for our lovely classmates. Plans for the entire school. I have a quick profile sketch on every hopeful dork from our orientation written in here. I could tell how to get to 'em just by looking!"  
  
"Can I see it?"  
  
Again, Ikusaba's request was ignored.  
  
"I have some impressive observations so far, but I need more intel. A basic assessment is not enough to generate piercing, soul-shattering despair. It won't be intense enough." She had assumed the role of distinguished scientist, scrutinizing her subject. "Not personal enough. To achieve true despair, the wounds have to count."  
  
"You sound different, Junko…"  
  
"Stop giving a damn how I sound! You know I get bored easily. It's what I say that matters, not how I say it."  
  
"Okay…"  
  
"I need you to help me get more information, not moon at me with your stupid face. We'll divide it up to cover more ground. I'm gonna take…" She swirled her finger over the notebook page dramatically. "That donut-headed girl… last season's Ferragamo catalog… caterpillar eyes… that little squeaky one… and the one with the fake piggy-tails."  
  
Enoshima's voice had turned high-pitched and sickeningly cute, and she wiggled in her seat as she rattled off the humorous pet names created on the spot for her classmates.  
  
"Um, Junko, I don't know who any of those people are. Can't you just use their real names?"  
  
"They don't matter to you because they're mine!" She shrieked like a child whose older sister had stolen her toys. "You need to know Hagakure Yasuhiro, Oowada Mondo, Maizono Sayaka, that annoying, creepy hentai dude, ooh! And for now, I'm giving you Miss Preppy Princess Daddy's Girl. But I'll want her later. You're too incompetent to handle that one all by yourself."  
  
"You listened to what I asked at first… but then I lost you again…"  
  
Enoshima rolled her eyes and let out a haughty laugh.  
  
"Honestly, I don't even know Creepy Hentai's name--he doesn't really matter, but that spoiled little princess is goddamn Kirigiri fucking Kyouko! God. Mukuro, if you don't know that, you don't know anything."  
  
The younger twin didn't wait for a response from the older one. Ikusaba would just have to keep up.  
  
"Get with the program, sis, because this show is on the road!"  
  
Enoshima Junko flashed her sister a peace sign that looked as if it was made for the entire world to see.

♥♡♥

NIGHT TIME.  
  
Kuwata Leon was jamming on an electric guitar, jumping up and down on his bed. A very disapproving Super High School Level Hall Monitor (and designated RA) by the name of Ishimaru Kiyotaka pounded on his door to no avail. Several citations were slipped through the crease at the bottom of the door for later review.  
  
Fukawa Touko dropped the rough draft of her latest novel on the floor. The pages fluttered, dipped and scattered. She had an absolute panic attack. Gathering her wits, she remembered that counting was a good grounding technique. She started with Page One.  
  
Hagakure Yasuhiro was gazing into his crystal ball. He thought he saw two young bear cubs climbing a tree in the forest. If he wasn't mistaken, one of them butted the other off a branch. The victim fell a long way to the ground.  
  
Maizono Sayaka answered fan mail with a Hello Kitty pen that wrote in hot pink. She kissed each envelope as it was sealed.  
  
Enoshima Junko gave a kiss, too, planting it on her sister's cheek in an occasional mood swing of affection after saying goodnight. Ikusaba Mukuro waited for Enoshima to change personalities and shove her off the bed. It happened within the next five minutes.  
  
Kirigiri Kyouko was wrapped in her blanket, writing in a journal by bedside lamplight. She planned on sleeping soon, but her phone rested at her side, not plugged into the charger on the desk yet. She felt as if she were waiting for something, but she didn't know what.  
  
Mondo Oowada was not in his dorm. He was still in the workout room, barking at the security guard who kicked him out.  
  
He passed Oogami Sakura in the halls, heading back to her dorm after a good weight-lifting session and without protest. Oowada envied her disciplined strength.  
  
Celestia Ludenberg twirled around her room in a new dress. There was nothing she liked more than the riches of a pampered life. Expensive dresses, in particular, were chief among her tastes.  
  
Fujisaki Chihiro clicked away at a laptop. He smiled and laughed as he went.  
  
Yamada Hifumi zoned out into his own computer land, thoroughly enjoying himself until he was slammed with an onslaught of ads from a 2D erotica website.  
  
Togami Byakuya was caught up in a late night conference call. He needed more wine to suffer the imbeciles that had somehow wormed their way into his father's main team of stockbrokers.  
  
Asahina Aoi was already asleep, tired from a long day of classes and swimming. She had dreams about being chased in the pool by an unhappy dolphin that cried and cried as the water level rose at an alarming rate.  
  
Naegi Makoto felt at ease for the first time since he had arrived at Hope's Peak. A janitor had come to his dorm earlier and taught him how to open the finicky bathroom door, promising to replace it soon and apologizing for the inconvenience. He set his alarm for early the next morning so that he could have his schedule righted at the Registration Office. A relaxing shower readied him for bed, which he greeted with a warm smile.  
  
Upon switching off the bedside light, the bulb fizzled and blew out. No matter. No amount of bad luck could faze him now.  
  
He fell asleep with the company of a hopelessly leaking faucet echoing from the bathroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm slightly ahead of the game right now, so i wanted to post this bit to mostly introduce every main character. i only haven't touched on Celestia, who will figure importantly soon. i'm a bit concerned about the pacing. it'll naturally be a bit slower to allow me to get to everyone… i'd really appreciate it if you could let me know if it's moving fine so far... :)  
> how do you guys feel about the "Night Time" section? this was the first in what i intend to be a series of experimental writing… thingy-ish-things… with that particular area of the story… and with the story in general, since i'm practicing my writing style… and i'd like to know as much as possible about how you receive it. i'm also aware i've taken a few liberties with Kirigiri headcanon in terms of her lifestyle and history…opinions you have on my characterization of her would be great too… 
> 
> i promise these notes will dwindle in size and content from here on out. i'll even try to shut up all together and be nonexistent like the good little ghost i am!
> 
> xo C


	3. Hiro Phone Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hagakure Yasuhiro is possessed by aliens (?) and predicts Naegi's inevitable doom.

It is an unfortunate belief held by many people that a pretty girl is a shallow girl. Celestia Ludenberg fancied she was a perfect argument against this stereotype. Her manner of dress was a statement, and a powerful one at that. Her look was a part of her. It made a difference. She compared herself to Marie Antoinette, who had spurred a revolution with her lavish dresses.

Celestia Ludenberg wasn't a mere fashion plate. She boasted a head for numbers; a mathematical finesse, as she referred to it herself. From a small age she displayed extraordinary ability with the quantitative. She could look at a jar of jellybeans and know exactly how many were in it. She performed exceptionally in trials regarding the memorization of colors, shapes, figures and directions. She could recite six hundred and sixty six digits of Pi. She filed her parents' taxes at the age of ten. Fifteen-hundred-piece puzzles were put together with ease and speed; her father had timed her once at thirty minutes, ten seconds. She was seven years old then.

The Queen of Lies' secret to her Super High School Level gambling ability?

She counted cards. She tracked the movement of hands. She analyzed patterns. Matters of 'chance' weren't chance at all, if you did the math.

Or that's what she told herself, anyway. She also calculated the risk. And most of the time it was high. But she let it ride nonetheless. It thrilled her, a divine voice from within assuring her that she would not lose because she was Celestia Ludenberg-her own special character in the theater of life-and in her story, Celestia Ludenberg did not lose.

And that's what made Celestia so good at what she did. She was right-brained, too, and her creativity accentuated her left-brained capabilities. It allowed her to craft lies.

She liked to narrate her day in her head, telling the tale of her life with florid depictions a nineteenth-century British author would envy. Every breath, every line, every movement was styled just so. She kept it that way, like a carefully trimmed rose garden.

Today was an exception.

_'Enoshima Junko, a trendy model with a tacky plaid skirt and a Punk-style patched tie skips up the steps during lunch, a wild grin on her face. Her dangerously short skirt bounces in the wind. She trips and unceremoniously tumbles forward, snatching at Celestia's hair as she crashes, tugging loose the beautiful girl's right curl-revealing to the occupants of Hope's Peak courtyard that Celestia Ludenberg wore hair extensions.'_

This shabby passage of amateur prose was not meant to be in her story.

"Kyaaah! Ouch!" Enoshima cried out.

Her knee was bleeding, and she clutched the raven-colored tress of hair in her left hand. The blonde brought it to her face with an obscenely cute, innocent expression and gasped. It was Oscar-worthy, but the Queen of Lies could tell when someone else was lying. Their lies were never as good.

"Oops, I'm sor-ry!" Enoshima's voice took on a singsong quality; her apology not at all authentic. "I'd be  **so**  embarrassed if that happened to me. Upupupu. Better laugh it off, huh?"

She extended her hand to Celestia, who snatched the hair extension from her, red eyes poised to kill.

"I am laughing." Celestia Ludenberg was not laughing at all. She carefully attached the curl to her head, so accustomed to doing so that she didn't need a mirror. She blinked at Enoshima, taking deep breaths. "At you, clumsy  **bitch**."

Celestia couldn't control herself from snarling the last word. It was terribly unladylike when that harsh, angry side showed itself. Only in the most intense circumstances did this happen. She romanticized that she had a Jekyll and Hyde complex-Ludenberg the respectable Dr. Jekyll; Takeo Yasuhiro the ugly Hyde; and that gothic glamour made her temper forgivable. To an extent.

Enoshima just giggled.

"Upupu. How unbecoming of you to lash out like that." The girl had taken on a superior, lofty tone. "Better behave in public, now, if you don't want to let your image go to hell. Wouldn't that just be a despairing turn of events?"

She hummed and skipped away, greatly in need of a band-aid but not seeming to care.

"What are you looking at?" Celestia barked at the snickering crowd.

'Barked.' How lowly. How unevolved and offensive.

She sighed, raising her hands to her chin with a delicate smile.

"Well, let us be on our way to class now, shall we?" She stood up, gingerly dusting off her skirt.

The admirers she had gathered around her looked at each other, raising their eyebrows. Yet, ever obedient, they shortly rose and joined their queen.

"Yes, Celestia."

They followed behind her as she glided away.

♥♡♥

Togami Byakuya strutted through the halls of the school on his lunch break. He wasn't particularly hungry; not that he ever was. He was too busy to be hungry, not to mention the communal experience of dining with others made his stomach turn. He didn't like to be looked at when he ate. He thought it made for a vulgar presentation.

He was still exploring the school, which he would continue to do until he had it mapped out to his satisfaction. The library was most promising, though it could have done with some leather settees and more spacious desks. Better lighting too; he would have to see if he could do something about that.

Togami Byakuya did not know how to live his life without taking control of his environment. The last thing he would do was accept the world as it was presented to him. The structure of things simply wasn't adequate; it could always be improved. And as a Super High School Level Heir, and a real world businessman, he would be the one to make those changes. He would be the one to spur the world forward to ultimate perfection.

Though he wasn't hungry, he decided to stop at the cafeteria and pick up a black tea before class. He scoffed at the groups of silly, laughing students seated around the long tables like kindergarteners on a picnic trip. The way they slurped their noodles and chugged down tonics poisoned with fatal sugar content levels disgusted him. Their sandwiches were packed with cuts of meat and cheese so crude it was mortifying. His stomach turned.

A small folding table was set up next to the tea and coffee station, a couple of seniors seated around it. He noted a very serious girl with polished pearl earrings and an expensive watch, as well as a clean-cut boy in a fashionable dark green suit. Folders and forms bearing the school's insignia were neatly stacked on the table.

"What do we have here?" Togami addressed the older students with condescending curiosity. In all honesty he respected them, but his social faculties were unable to translate reverence into dialogue. Everything came out as an insult. He refused to acknowledge this imperfection in himself.

The girl shot him a haughty look.

"We are facilitating the Student Council election process. I suppose a freshman," she emphasized the word, "wouldn't know. Each year we hold elections for office. It is a very prestigious tradition."

"Like with everything at Hope's Peak," the boy, who was a Super High School Level Lawyer of the Seventy Sixth class, continued, "this council is much more than your average high school farce of a student government. Presidents, as well as their VP, secretaries, and treasurers are intimately involved with the Steering Committee. These individuals even meet frequently with Headmaster Kirigiri themselves."

"Is that so?" A wry smile was creeping onto Togami's face.

"Technically, anyone is able to compete for a position," said the Super High School Level Judiciary Girl. "But, really, this election is only for the truly elite."

"In that case, I wish to sign up."

The girl laughed.

"And just who are you?'

"I am Togami Byakuya."

The girl gaped at him while her companion regarded her with reproach. He immediately provided Togami with an official booklet and a folder containing information on the responsibilities of the Council. Togami signed his name on their register with his personal pen and confirmed the date of the first gathering of prospective candidates.

"I apologize, we seem to have forgotten to introduce ourselves." The boy tried to save face. "I'm Taguchi Kichirou, the current Vice President, and this is my superior, Miss Okano Saki, the Student Council President. We're looking forward to you joining us, Togami Byakuya."

Togami raised an eyebrow.

"Joining you? They don't allow two Student Council Presidents at once, do they?"

"N-no, they don't." Taguchi glanced nervously at Okano. "I assumed you would be running for Secretary or Treasurer. The younger students usually do."

"Ah. Well, it will be a great honor for me to become the first freshman President, then. I look forward to having you as my VP, Taguchi." He stared pointedly at Okano Saki, his new opponent, as he said it. "If you get reelected, that is."

He pushed his gasses up to the bridge of his nose and smirked, briskly striding away before either of the senior students could respond.

"Hmph."

Okano was livid and fuming, but Togami was already skimming the folder, halfway through the first page of nomination procedures.

♥♡♥

After lunch came Biology. Kirigiri Kyouko was dreaming, watching cherry blossom flowers floating down from the clouds along with fluffy snowflakes as they caked rocks and paved a frozen river.

The scene faded to her family home as she remembered it many, many years ago. She looked around. Dolls on her grandmother's China cabinet. A clock in the corner of the room; a large, antique grandfather clock, chiming five in the afternoon, a hazy sparkle littering the sky just visible outside the estate windows.

Impressions. Memories.

She wasn't distant from her emotions. Rather, they were distant from her. Everything she cared about went away on a breeze; inflated love swept up by gusts of wind and tossed about like lost balloons.

She didn't force down her emotions, which was why they bubbled up so easily when she was shaken. There was simply no reason to express them, no object for her affection to fall on, so the emotions lay dormant. Silent.

She was in her old room. It smelled of lavender, peppermint, and sweet wine chilled in a cellar. She wondered if she smelled like that, too.

She kept mementos of her grandmother in a locked desk drawer:

A bracelet that had once belonged to her. A little white ceramic lucky cat. A paper fan. Some cough drops; the medicinal, powdery kind. Two small keys identical in size, shape, and patina. A book of matches and a metal case with three stale cigarettes left inside.

"...Huh?"

A sunny classroom came into focus. She saw the flat plane of the desk from where her head rested. Someone was talking to her, she realized, identifying the speaker as she sat up to be a brunette with green eyes.

"Y-you dropped this." A bit of color tinged Naegi's cheeks and he held out a notebook to her. She recognized that it was hers. "I think, you um, knocked it off your desk in your sleep."

"Oh. So I did. Thank-you." Her own cheeks turned slightly pink as she took it from him.

"You must be pretty tired. You slept through the whole class. Rough night?"

"…"

He waited, holding his breath. And just when it seemed hopeless, she answered.

"Yes. I didn't sleep; or, at least, not enough that it felt like I did."

"Oh." In all honesty, he hadn't expected her to respond. Every conceivable outcome he had imagined all involved him shuffling away awkwardly as she stared off into the distance or worse, just got up and walked away from him without a word.

"Any particular reason?"

"…"

"I guess you don't need to tell me that…"

"Who are you?" She asked.

"H-huh?"

"Who are you? I hope you know your own name."

"O-oh, I'm Naegi Makoto. I guess it makes sense you wouldn't remember me, since I missed orientation and I'm not very talen-ah!" He was tripping over his words, rambling like a stuttering and drooling fool. He used his confusion to seem just as detached as she was, even though he was painfully aware he did not pull it off. "Uh, I-I actually don't know your name, either."

"…It's Kirigiri Kyouko."

"That's a really pretty name."

"…"

She gave him a look. He couldn't tell what words it was supposed to stand in for, but he was certain they were unquestionably bad.

_Augh, why did I say that? She thinks I'm weird. She totally thinks I'm weird. She'll never talk to me again-_

"Thank-you." She said after a moment. "My grandmother picked it, actually."

She had just been dreaming of her.

"Oh, ah, that's really-that's really nice-"

"I have to go."

Kirigiri stood up and grabbed her things.

"Oh… I could, um, I could walk you to your next class, o-or-"

She was already gone, which he hadn't noticed since he was talking to his shoes.

He was entirely red-faced, standing alone in the classroom.

_That couldn't have went worse… ugh…_

Naegi summoned up the strength to look at the clock. Time for Ancient History. That was his next and last class of the day.

_Ancient History… just like my chances with..._

He almost referred to her as the mysterious silver-haired girl, the way he had romanticized her in his head. But he did, at least, know her name now, even though it wouldn't matter since he had embarrassed himself in front of her beyond recovery.

_Kirigiri Kyouko._

♥♡♥

Togami Byakuya prided himself on his quick thinking as well as his ability to mentally multi-task. In a matter of moments he had devised campaigning strategies, solidified running platforms, brainstormed slogans, and was already mentally writing the first couple lines of a speech.

What Togami Byakuya wasn't good at was taking his attention from something that interested him to notice other people.

He collided with Enoshima Junko as he turned a corner.

"Oof! Jerk! How dare you hit a lady?" Ever the actress, she recoiled from him, summoning tears to the corners of her eyes for dramatic effect.

Togami scowled.

"I didn't hit you, you ran straight into me. Watch where you're going instead of running around like a hooligan."

Enoshima put her hands on her hips.

"What did you just say to me, four eyes!? How rude!"

"I don't have time for children." Togami shot her a look of disgust and turned his back to her.

"Yeah, yeah. You think you're  **so**  smooth, don't you, asshole? Bleagh!" She stuck her tongue out at him and wiggled it while holding out her middle finger.

As soon as Togami was out of sight, Enoshima bent down and picked up a pocket-sized, leather-bound book that the boy had dropped. She thumbed the pages and reviewed its contents: phone numbers, dates, checkbook records, itineraries, personal references, and all manner of interesting scraps of information filled its pages. She smirked and shoved the book into her purse.

"Upupu. Upupupu."

♥♡♥

In the afternoon a tent had been set up on Hope's Peak Academy's front lawn. It was deep purple in color and had multicolored streamers sprouting from the top, looking like something straight off the set of a children's show. The thin material rippled in the wind, streamers flapping about like a propeller that would lift the entire tent and take it up into the sky.

"Hm. Hmm. Hmmm. In-ter-esting."

Inside the tent, Hagakure Yasuhiro studied his crystal ball. Ikusaba Mukuro sat before him in complete silence. Hagakure did not like the look in her eyes. It was detached and ethereal, like some otherworldly entity resided in the girl's body.

"What is it?" Ikusaba asked.

"Well… I see… I see… I see absolutely nothing." For once, Hagakure was one hundred percent certain of his results. It was the first time he had ever had so much conviction over a reading.

"No, I'm sure of it. There's… there's just nothing there. It's like… it's like… there's a sealed lid over your future or something."

He ran his hand through his hair. Ikusaba wasn't aware until now that his hair wasn't a solid mass.

"What do you mean?"

"This is crazy!"

He reached out and grabbed Ikusaba's left hand. This girl was freaking him out big time. Something wasn't right. He would check her palm and put his doubts to rest.

"Hey!"

He paid her no mind, opening her hand and firmly grasping her wrist while running a finger over the soft lines. He hovered over her squinting and muttering like a flustered old woman who had left her glasses in the knitting bag.

"Huh… huh… huh…."

"Can you please let go of me?"

"I got it!" He released her and sat back.

Ikusaba cradled her wrist with a scowl.

"You're an alien. There's no other explanation."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"No, you can't trick me! You're not human!" His eyes widened as Ikusaba blinked at him.

"Your heart line, it... doesn't exist. That's impossible! To have no heart line, you couldn't… it's like having no heart! And your lifeline, it's all broken up, almost like you have… like you have two lives or something! No, I'm sure of it, your hand is definitely not a human hand!"

He pointed a finger at her, his voice rising in pitch with every declaration.

"You're a UFO! I'm contaminated! I need air!"

He shoved a frowning Ikusaba out of the tent and threw himself onto the grass, breathing deeply. He took in so much extra air that he started to hiccup.

"Alien scum! I'm in-hic-fected!" He was completely hysterical.

Ikusaba sighed and began talking out loud to herself.

"What a total idiot. Coming here was a waste of time. Junko's gonna be so mad I didn't get any valuable information…" She frowned, her lips almost forming a pout much like her sister's, and stalked away.

Hagakure was rolling on the ground hiccupping when Naegi approached, regarding Ikusaba's retreating form with confusion.

"Uh, Hagakure? Are you okay?" Naegi put his hands on his knees and peered down at him.

"Nae-hic-i! Get a-hic-way! I'm deceas-hic-ed!"

"Well, you're definitely not deceased if you're moving around and talking." He rubbed the back of his head with a smile. "I think you mean diseased, but you don't look diseased either. You just have the hiccups."

Hagakure stopped flailing on the ground and sat up.

"That-hic-girl, I-hic-usaba. She's-she's a hic-alien!"

"Er." Hagakure had a habit of leaving Naegi speechless. He had to be creative with his responses to the boy-that was for sure. It was never a normal conversation with the Super High School Level Clairvoyant.

"I really don't think that's true, Hagakure. Aren't aliens slimy and green with big heads and big eyes?"

Hagakure cocked his head to the side as he considered it for a moment, his breathing leveling out.

"Oh, yeah, you're right…"

Naegi chuckled.

"Hey! My hiccups are gone! You're a life saver, dude!"

He stood up and brushed himself off. There was a chunk of grass in his hair that he didn't seem to notice. Naegi stared at it.

"Alright! Since you saved me, I'll tell you your fortune for free! And trust me, I'm not usually cheap!" Hagakure flashed him a thumbs up.

"Er, I just came by to say hi… I didn't really want to get my fortune told…"

"What, you don't trust me!? I thought we were friends, man!"

"We are! Of course we are." Naegi said. "I guess I'll do it. I've never consulted a fortune teller before."

"Never!? Well, luckily for you, I'm the best there is!"

"Didn't you say something before about your success rate being only thirty percent?"

"Yup! Which makes me the best! Most other psychic folk can usually only achieve ten to fifteen percent accuracy. Now, step into my humble abode." He gestured to the opening of the tent.

Naegi hesitated, but resolved to do what Hagakure wanted so as not to offend him. As he poked his head inside, he was hit with the overwhelming stench of marijuana and incense. He coughed. The air was uncomfortably warm and suffocating, but Hagakure seemed right at home as he settled onto a large fuzzy cushion.

There was a cloth laid out in front of the boy serving as a table for a crystal ball and tarot cards, as well as some small rocks with curious figures carved into them. Christmas ornaments dangled from the roof of the tent, hooks piercing the nylon. Naegi could've sworn he heard a frog croak from one of many assorted glass bottles stacked behind Hagakure, but he was too afraid to look.

"So, um, what do I do?" Naegi asked as he took a seat opposite Hagakure.

"You don't got to do anything, dude! You just relax. Free your mind. It's me who's got to do all the work."

Naegi wasn't sure how to 'free his mind.' He wasn't sure it was a good thing to do so, either. He wondered where Hagakure's mind had gone upon obtaining its freedom.

Luckily, he didn't have to try for long, because Hagakure soon shouted, "A-ha!"

The Clairvoyant was waving his arms in a circular motion about the crystal ball like a caricature of a clairvoyant might, massaging the aura of supernatural energy that rose from the magical tool.

"I see plenty here about you! There was definitely something weird with that military chick, but I can say with absolute certainty, Naegi-eggy, you are totally human, my man."

"Um, that's good to know…"

"Right? I'm glad to know, too. I was starting to get a little suspicious-no offense, your head's just kind of a weird shape-okay… that's just the first of many strange messages here… this next bit says… er, you're going to have a near death experience."

"What!"

"That will probably result in actual death."

"WHAT!?"

Hagakure ran a hand through his hair as he considered the crystal ball with a frown. He was doing that a lot today. Seriously, what was with the people at this school? He sighed.

"Wow, that sucks. Sorry, bro. It was nice knowing you. Do you think maybe I could have your Biology notebook? I haven't taken any notes yet."

"What do you mean, 'it was nice knowing me!?' You're gonna give up on me just like that!?"

"I dunno; thirty percent is kind of a high probability"

"There's no way I'm going to die! What do I have to do to change the results?"

"Well, there's a chance-a small chance-you'll live… but I can't say for sure. You're asking for too much there, dude."

"I think I deserve to know more about my own death!"

"Hey, man, calm down. Nobody knows how they're going to die. That just isn't the way of the universe-it has nothing to do with me! Don't insult the Big Man. You're lucky to at least know when it's going to happen. Damn, my tent is gonna be cursed now with all this bad energy…"

He fumbled in a pouch beside him and pulled out a clear crystal that he waved around the tent making zapping noises.

Naegi was pretty freaked out, but he also had a hard time taking Hagakure seriously. He gathered his wits enough to ask another question.

"Okay, well, does it tell you about anything else?"

"Oh, yeah, um, hm." Hagakure inspected the ball. "Yeah, it says here you're going to suffer a broken heart. It's going to be a pretty miserable experience."

Naegi immediately thought of Kirigiri Kyouko.

"That's horrible!"

"Well, maybe death will be salvation for you, then."

Naegi was rapidly growing sick to his stomach. Suddenly, there was a knock on the tent. The little structure shook.

"Ah, I'm with a client right now. Please wait outside." Hagakure called out.

"I am not here to attend your disgraceful carnival sideshow. Come out of there this instant."

Togami.

"Aw, man, I don't want to! Go away!"

Naegi was shocked at Hagakure's defiance. It sounded like a young boy quarreling with his mother.

"Hagakure, this is no time for jokes."

"I'm not joking, bro. If it's that important you can come in here and talk to me!"

A pause so loud Naegi could hear it.

"I will not."

"Come on, Toges, we can all fit-"

"No."

Hagakure grumbled, losing the will power to resist Togami's command.

"Alright, alright, you win. I've got an unhappy customer in here, anyway."

"How am I supposed to react to being told I'm going to die!?"

Naegi and Hagakure crawled out of the tent and back into the real world. Togami studied them with disdain, adjusting his glasses.

"You again." He addressed Naegi. "I hope his prediction is accurate."

Naegi was too stunned to respond. As for whatever exclamations could've been made, it was safe to assume Togami would've ignored them.

"Hagakure, I have decided that I will become Hope's Peak's new Student Council President. I need you to find me a personal assistant for the campaign as soon as possible."

"Huh? I thought I was your assistant, man."

"You cannot even comb your hair. Please explain how you would be capable of assisting me with the intricacies of politics."

Naegi thought this was as good a time as any to escape and backed away.

He decided to head back to his dorm to finish some homework. He would apply himself to his studies and try to forget Kirigiri Kyouko; to forget Hagakure's predictions; to forget Togami's condescension and all the many unfortunate turns of fate he had jumped hurdles over so far. He needed to forget about all of it for a while. It hadn't even been a week in the world of the high school elite, and he was already sinking fast.

The grass rolled out beneath him as he studied his sneakers.  _I should probably get some nice dress shoes to wear to cla-_

WHOOSH!

It was like a sonic boom whizzed by Naegi's head. His ears popped and he could feel burning on the tip of his ear. He fell forward, stumbling, and toppled into a fountain.

He had narrowly avoided a baseball to the head.

"Holy shit, man! Are you okay!?" The Super High School Level Baseball Player, Kuwata Leon, ran up to him in a panic.

Naegi sat up and coughed, his ears ringing. The fountain water was grossly thick and ice cold. He couldn't stand up.

"He's alive!" Kuwata called out to the friends he had been playing catch with, Oowada Mondo and Fujisaki Chihiro, who were both on their way over. "He's alive!"

"I, uh, I think so, at least…" He mumbled, looking at Naegi with a pained expression.

"Check on him, ya fuckin' idiot, don't just stand there!" Oowada tramped over to the fountain and picked Naegi up by the collar, giving him a rough shake. Naegi was dripping water like a wet towel. "You alive, you poor bastard?"

"H-huh?" He couldn't hear over the piercing trill in his skull.

"Are you fuckin' deaf!?"

"I'm-I'm okay…"

Naegi's vision cleared. Oowada was glaring at him, gritting his teeth.

"Good." The Super High School Level Gang Leader put him down roughly.

Naegi stumbled a bit.

"Th-thanks…"

"I'm so sorry!" Fujisaki Chihiro was red-faced and crying. "It's-it's all my fault!"

"What? It was that dumbass who threw the fuckin' ball!" Oowada pointed an accusatory finger at Kuwata.

"Hey! It was a freaking accident!"

"But… but…" Fujisaki couldn't stop sputtering, tears dripping off his chin. "I was s-supposed to catch it… and I couldn't… that's why h-he was almost killed…"

"It's not your fault." Oowada's tone turned soft, and he crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked away. "You tried your best. That asshole should've fuckin' known to throw it easier."

"Fuckhead." He snarled at Kuwata.

Kuwata grunted and turned to Naegi, who was still struggling to right himself.

"You're good, right, man? You don't have brain damage or anything?"

"N-nah, I-I'm okay…" Naegi put his face in his hand and rubbed his forehead. "I just wanna go to bed."

"See! I told you he was fine!" Kuwata grinned and slapped Naegi on the back. The boy stumbled and sneezed out water. "Thank God! I don't know how I'd deal with it if I killed someone!"

"You're a lucky fuck, kid." Oowada shook his head at Naegi while Kuwata laughed.

Naegi limped away, stumbling down the path to the dorms and leaving the two boys to comfort Fujisaki. He was exhausted. His sneakers were soggy. Droplets of sour-tasting water dripped from his hair onto his lips. He had a terrible headache.

All he wanted was to get out of his wet clothes and lay down, but when he reached his dorm, there was an envelope waiting for him on the floor. He opened it up while he shut the door behind him and read:

_Naegi Makoto,_

_Your presence is required in my office at 7:30am tomorrow morning for an urgent meeting. Please be prepared and on time as there are matters of grave importance to discuss._

_Regards,_

_Kirigiri Jin_

He couldn't believe his eyes. What could the headmaster possibly want with him?

Overwhelmed, he started yanking off his wet clothes. He didn't possess the strength to think about it now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dun dun dunnn.  
> phew long chapter. are you guys okay with this or would you prefer shorter? i just realized today i'm basically writing a fanfic novel here and i don't know how to feel about that.  
> i hoped you enjoyed my characterization of Celes. i think of her as extremely intelligent and when i was trying to figure out what traits someone would have to possess to be an Ultimate Gambler, counting cards and the like seemed obvious. i liked it, at least.  
> oh, and about the OC's--they don't matter. i'm personally not a fan of OC's, but since they're in a regular school there obviously will be other students for them to interact with and it'd be awkward if they didn't have names and personalities. i won't be spending any time on them though--they'll only appear in relevance to Togami.  
> Togami for President!  
> xo C


	4. Me, Myself & Togami

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naegi is presented with two offers he can't refuse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, Kirigiri Kyouko will be referred to as Kyouko and Kirigiri Jin will be referred to as Kirigiri.

At 7:28am the next morning Naegi Makoto stood, paralyzed, in front of what should have been a harmless door in the school's Main Office building.

His life flashed before his eyes. He witnessed his earliest memory of receiving a birthday cake when he turned two, a cake he may or may not have put his face in. He remembered his baby sister being born and crying every night from the next room. He remembered how he himself cried when his dog passed away a few years later. He remembered a family vacation to Disneyland in Urayasu, Chiba; going to the doctor with his mom when he was having trouble sleeping and couldn't stop wetting the bed; a bicycle he got for his eighth birthday; the first horror movie he ever saw, by accident, peering in on his dad watching TV late at night; wetting the bed again after having terrible nightmares about the movie; the summer his parents were abnormally busy and he and Komaru spent every day at their aunt and uncle's pool eating popsicles with their cousins; getting teased by the cool kids in elementary school; the first year he spent at his first high school and how boring and lonesome it was; receiving the letter of acceptance to Hope's Peak Academy; Hagakure Yasuhiro telling him yesterday afternoon that in the near future he would be a heartbroken dead person.

Naegi Makoto stood in front of the door to the headmaster's office. It should have been a harmless door, but in Naegi's mind it was a gateway to death. Wrist shaking, he knocked.

"Come in."

A middle-aged man in a button-down dress shirt and slacks was seated behind a desk, hovering over a computer. Bookshelves and display cases filled with trophies and trinkets lined the walls. A very scribbled on calendar hung to the side of the headmaster's workspace and file cabinets were stacked like building blocks in the corner. Naegi had definitely expected the office to be cleaner, but even amongst the clutter, the polished wood of the desk and the perfect regal weathering of the carpet leant the room legitimacy. It smelled like cheap air fresheners, iodine and books.

"Sit down."

When he first received the letter from the headmaster, Naegi had envisioned himself seated before an elderly professor with old-fashioned bifocals, a heavy frame and the roar of an old lion. This meticulous, slim man with curious, calculating eyes was not at all what he expected.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Naegi fidgeted in his seat. His heart was beating fast.

"Yes, I did. You are Naegi Makoto, Super High School Level Luck, is that correct?"

"That--that'd be me." He laughed nervously, trying to compose himself.

"Hm."

The headmaster looked him up and down, studying his hair; his outfit; his inexpensive book bag; his sneakers. He felt self-conscious and exposed, like an ant beneath a magnifying glass.

"It has come to my attention that for a so-called Luckster you have been caught in quite a few mishaps since the semester began."

Naegi's jaw dropped.

"What? H-how did you know about that?"

"I know everything that goes on in this school, Mr. Naegi. To assume that I--or the rest of the Steering Committee, for that matter--is in the dark about anything that happens here, no matter how trivial it may seem, would be a mistake. We see everything. Well, except for a couple of incidents we're still looking into, but--no, I can't discuss that with you. Forget I said anything."

He wrung his hands out nervously. Naegi was perplexed.

"Well, is it true? Since you've come to this school you've been in quite a few unlucky situations, am I correct?

Naegi blushed.

"Uh, y-yes, sir, that's right. I guess I have. I didn't make it to the freshman orientation… and I had some difficulties with my schedule and uh, the facilities in my dorm room… and um, yesterday I was almost kind of... well, killed by a baseball…"

The principal scratched his chin.

"Ah, yes, I remember hearing of that incident…"

Naegi put his head down in embarrassment.

"So, Mr. Naegi, would you care to tell me how this behavior befits a student with the title of Super High School Level Luck?"

It would be a lie to say that he hadn't thought about it. The irony of his position was not lost on him. As if it wasn't difficult enough for him to wrap his head around being accepted to the school at all, the constant stream of misfortune he had experienced since then was like a black cloud that clung to him closer than his own shadow.

"I, uh, I don't really know, sir…"

The headmaster sighed.

"The fact that you do not know is further proof that you have not been focused on honing your ability… I must admit that was not what I wanted to hear. This does not bode very well for you at all, I'm afraid."

Naegi's heart stopped.

"You see, Mr. Naegi, being admitted to this school and then not continuing to express your talent just isn't acceptable. It's like if the Super High School Level Hall Monitor suddenly stopped following the rules. Or if the Super High School Level Baseball Player decided to give up baseball and start a punk rock band."

Kirigiri Jin picked up a day planner that was lying open on his desk and averted his eyes from Naegi's horrified face.

"Ah, yes, I still have to talk to Mr. Kuwata about that, but, anyway…"

He put the day planner by the telephone.

"Such behavior is simply not tolerated. You were accepted here based on your Super High School Level Luck, and now you've abandoned it."

"I didn't a-abandon my luck, sir! I just, er, I just lost it."

"That's equally careless, don't you think?"

Naegi's head was spinning.

"S-sure some bad things may have happened, sir, but it's only been a week. That doesn't mean I'm not lucky anymore."

"Tell that to the Committee, young man. They aren't having it. Your bad luck has been blatant and uncalled for. It has been decided that we cannot, in good conscious, foster a student who does not maintain a Super High School Level in their designated talent. I regret to inform you that you will have to be expelled from the Academy."

 _Expelled?_ He couldn't get expelled!

"Sir… there must be--there must be some mistake. I'm sure the Committee wouldn't do something as drastic as that right away…"

"It is not a mistake, Mr. Naegi. I have some paperwork here that you will need to sign. I trust you can arrange for your parents to pick you up this weekend?"

His stomach dropped with such gravity it may as well have fallen to the floor and rolled under the headmaster's desk in slow motion.

"What!? N-no!"

Up until this moment Naegi Makoto had possessed nothing but completely average goals for his life. He had seen nothing in his future but an average high school experience, an average college attendance, an average job with an average wife and average kids and an average dog, cared for on an average salary. He'd have average hobbies like fishing and reading the sports column and going on walks in the park and an average car and average neighbors who watched him mow the lawn.

He never had great expectations for himself, and he was okay with that, until he had come to Hope's Peak.

Just being in the presence of so many Super High School Level individuals had changed him, he realized now. It was like he had been given a glimpse into some alien world and there was no way he could hop back in his spaceship and return to Earth the same. Everything was different here. The air was clearer and the sky was higher. Colors stood out more, like the light and saturation settings had been turned up in his eyeballs. The world suddenly seemed full of wonderful and strange possibilities. In this place, it was like he could see the future; a better future.

How could he possibly walk back into an average high school after this? After stepping foot into Hope's Peak he couldn't **be** average anymore. If he turned back now, his life would be a super high school level disappointment. Even though bad things had been happening to him a lot lately, he hadn't given up hope.

He was starting to feel present and attentive in class. He had made some friends. Asahina, his lab partner, was energetic, helpful, and kind. She made him feel accepted. Hagakure was an odd fellow, but Naegi liked to think they were getting close. He didn't think he could count Togami as a friend, truly, but he never thought of anyone as a lost cause. His optimism was both his vice and virtue, as was his ability to see the good in people.

And then there was the girl. The mysterious, silver-haired girl with the ribbon in her hair… He had only just learned her name. If he left Hope's Peak now, he would never see her again.

He couldn't be expelled!

"Sir… Sir, please." Naegi's voice cracked like he was begging for his life. "I'm so grateful to be here. My… my parents were so proud of me when I left! And my little sister, she really looks up to me. I couldn't bear to see the looks on their faces if I packed my bags and went home without giving this my best shot!"

That was right. He had been so down in the dumps that he had forgotten why he was here. He did have a purpose.

"Not meeting the school requirements isn't the same as not trying your hardest, Mr. Naegi. At least, not at Hope's Peak. This school is, I'm sure you are aware, on an entirely different... level than most."

"I--I understand, but I can promise you that whatever you think of me now, I can change your mind."

Naegi's eyes were filled with emotion and he hoped the headmaster would see it. There was a curious expression on the man's face.

"I will change your mind! I--I think I belong here, sir."

Kirigiri Jin sighed.

"I'm afraid there really isn't anything I can do."

"That can't be true!" He felt his thoughts spiraling, searching for any possible argument to grasp onto.

"The school went through all this effort to admit me, right? They drew my name in a lottery;  they took the time to find me, to file me through admissions because they believed that I had Super High School Level Luck. Having a great school like this do all that for me, that is pretty lucky, don't you think? I was just an average kid. But I'm here now, in the place of someone else who could've been. For their sake, sir, don't I deserve a chance?"

Kirigiri was silent for a moment.

"Mr. Naegi, while your passion for attending the Academy moves me, I really don't…" The headmaster's resolve had weakened, and Naegi wasn't going to give up.

"Sir, I know that it may not look like it now, but I can handle being here. I honestly think that… that I have something to offer."

Naegi didn't know what it was--what he could possibly offer a place like Hope's Peak, a place which already boasted all of the prime young talent in the nation. But he did feel like there was something. No, he knew there was something. And if he just had enough time, he could figure out what.

"Give me a chance."

Kirigiri was deep in thought, twirling a pen in his hands while swiveling back and forth in his chair. Ticks of the clock were audible in the deep silence.

After a moment, the headmaster sat up straight, clearing his throat. He was going to get in deep trouble for this, but he was not the type of person who sacrificed his own goals to satisfy others.

"Perhaps we can work something out."

"Really!?" Naegi beamed, his whole body reanimating as the tension dropped from his shoulders.

"Perhaps. It depends on if I can get the Steering Committee to approve it. Actually, that doesn't matter--I already know they won't; I'll be going over their heads by doing this. They aren't too fond of me pursuing this whole 'Super High School Level Luck' thing. It is my idea to hold the draw for that every year, you see."

"I didn't know that, sir."

"Indeed, you wouldn't. Students aren't supposed to know about our selection process. As leaders of a world-renowned institution, we conduct a lot of experiments. Exploring the idea that there exists a supernatural 'luck' is one of these." He paused. "I shouldn't have told you that."

He stood and nervously meandered around the room, examining his things.

"Ah, anyway, back to your case. Well, the Committee isn't going to be happy with me, but honestly, I'd like to see this experiment developed further. For that reason, I'll give you until the end of the semester to display your Super High School Level Luck to the fullest."

It was a heavy load to take on, but to stay at Hope's Peak, Naegi was willing to do anything.

"Yes, sir."

"And if you cannot do this, I **will** have to expel you from the Academy. For good."

Naegi gulped.

"Understood, sir. I promise I won't disappoint you."

"Let's hope for your sake that you don't. It looks like I'll be seeing you again in a few month's time to discuss the results, Naegi Makoto." He sighed.

"Thank-you, sir. Thank-you so much." Naegi bowed to him, his heart filled with fresh determination to succeed. He couldn't thank the man enough.

He left the office shaking, but feeling confident and excited. Escaping expulsion with a second chance... _that certainly was lucky, wasn't it?_

"Ouch!"

Naegi was making his way out through the staff building and was about to turn a corner when he collided with Kirigiri Kyouko.

"K-Kirigiri! Are you all right? I'm so sorry." He panicked, blood rushing to his head and coloring his cheeks.

"What were you doing in my father's office?" She was unfazed, staring him down with her piercing violet eyes.

"N-nothing! W-wait, what? Your father? You're the headmaster's daughter?"

Kyouko frowned, upset she had let that word come out of her mouth. 'Father' was a title that had no place being used in reference to Kirigiri Jin. She also hadn't wanted anyone to know about the connection.

She bit her lip--a habit of hers when she was angry or nervous. Her grandfather used to tease her for it when she was little, saying she let everyone know when she didn't get her way.

"Yes. Unfortunately."

"Wow. Well, I guess, the same last name..."

"You didn't answer my question."

Naegi's heart sank. He couldn't tell her that he had almost been expelled for being a talentless failure. Even worse, he couldn't let her know that her father thought of him as a talentless failure.

"Um, ah--" His mind went blank and he did the first thing he could think of. "W-well, what are you doing here, Kirigiri?"

It was the worst possible thing he could've asked, as it only made her angrier. She was also taken off guard, which she didn't like either.

"You--you can't--" Kyouko was flustered, which never happened to her. This was not how the interrogation was supposed to go. "You can't ask me that."

"Why not?"

She glared at him and was about to tell him to go away when she spotted her father making his way down the hall toward them. Kyouko grabbed Naegi's arm and yanked him around the corner, pressing their backs to the wall, watching as Kirigiri Jin was met by an elderly gentleman with a face like a rat's.

The man was dressed in an intensely black suit with a black tie and a white button-up. His clothing was so dark, in fact, that it didn't look like clothing at all and blurred just to blackened shapes forming a stylistic silhouette. His grouchiness was an additionally visible trait.

"Kirigiri, what is the meaning of this? I left my office as soon as I saw the email. I thought we agreed that this boy wasn't necessary; that he was a liability." The chairman of the Steering Committee scolded Kirigiri in a gruff breathy tone; a balance between a whisper and a yell.

Kirigiri Jin crossed his arms. He had anticipated this response, but he knew that he had made the right decision. There wasn't a shadow of a doubt now, as he contemplated it more. He shoved his hands in his pockets, looking down at the old gentleman, who was also very short.

"I only approved him through the semester. There is... something I discovered during our meeting that I think is very important toward what we are trying to accomplish. Especially considering, you know... that other factor. This might prove to be exactly what we need."

"I don't see how that's possible. But I suppose there's no convincing you." The rat-like man scowled at Kirigiri. Even though they were both at the helm of the operations of the school, it was plain they detested each other. "It is beyond me why you continue to adopt a personal attachment to this situation despite the Committee's regrets. Alright, then. One semester, Kirigiri. And there are more important things for you to be doing right now than messing around with this."

The chairman grumbled and scampered away with a twitch of his nose. Kyouko watched Kirigiri Jin sigh and stare off into the distance for a moment before turning back the way he had come, bustling back to his office as though he had forgotten something.

Kyouko turned to Naegi.

"I need you to tell me what went on in your conversation with my father."

Naegi wasn't sure what he had just witnessed. Regardless, he resolved that he absolutely could not tell her about his near expulsion. He almost couldn't remember it, with this new information now buzzing in his head.

He was a liability? He was important to something the Committee was trying to accomplish? What was going on here?

"I.... I can't...." He watched her lips tighten and her brow furrow, regarding him with disdain. It made him feel sad and dizzy.

"Fine. I'll find out on my own." She looked him once over. "Naegi Makoto."

She met his eyes for a moment before turning her back, long silver hair trailing behind her like the train of a gown as she walked away.

Naegi felt weak and exhausted, his head pounding. He tried to remember what he was supposed to be doing right now.

_Crap._

He took off running to class, for which he was grossly late, all the while growing more and more anxious about the wild turn of events. How was he going to keep himself from being expelled? Were the headmaster and the Committee chairman really talking about him? For what reason? Why was Kyouko wandering around instead of being in class herself? And why did she seem to hate him so much?

He could barely breathe for all the questions. Chest tightening, he ran through the halls like he had a huge target on his back.

 

♥♡♥

 

Across the carpeted halls and through the woven labyrinth of cubicles and doors in the office, Ikusaba Mukuro popped out from behind a copy machine where she had hid herself several moments prior.

_Huh... that was pretty weird._

She adjusted her skirt and pulled up her socks. They were always rolling down, just has her bangs would never stay to the side and her fingernails could never stay clean. Enoshima berated Ikusaba constantly for her failure to present herself in a fashionable manner.

_But Junko told me to follow Kirigiri Kyouko wherever she went..._

Ikusaba sighed and pondered what she had just witnessed. She knew that if she were Enoshima Junko, she would know exactly what had transpired and exactly what to do about it. But she was Ikusaba, and therefore she had no idea.

_I wonder what Kirigiri's looking for. And that boy... I've never seen him before... either way, I think this was important. Maybe it will make Junko happy._

 

♥♡♥

 

"Dude, I've got the perfect person. It just came to me."

"You're not going to volunteer yourself again, are you?"

Hagakure Yasuhiro and Togami Byakuya were getting lunch in the dining hall. Rather, Hagakure was getting lunch and Togami was drinking a cup of tea and abusing the hand-sanitizer dispensers in attempt to cleanse himself of his abject surroundings.

"Nah, no way, man. Dude, Naegi could totally be your assistant."

In all honesty, Naegi was the only person Hagakure had gotten to know since classes started. Togami wasn't letting up about this assistant thing, and Hagakure just didn't have the time to get acquainted with anybody else.

There were a couple of problems that had his attention lately. Nothing major, just some disgruntled past customers who had been on his case. They clearly just didn't like their fortune--and that wasn't his fault. He reported the hidden truth; not make it up. These guys were saying some nasty things, but Hagakure knew they weren't serious. They were just trying to scare him with their big talk about drive-bys and watching his every move. Everybody knew that stuff only happened in movies.

Regardless, it had Hagakure preoccupied. It was hard work avoiding everything by locking himself in his room with a pipe and vinyl records.

"Naegi? Who is that?"

"You know, my friend. Nugget."

Togami stared at him.

"That pest whose been buzzing around lately? He's nothing but a nuisance. I am not a babysitter."

Hagakure grumbled. He scanned the room of Super High School Level students as if hoping a divine light would shine down upon one of them so he could get Togami off his case. He stared harder until he was squinting and harder until his eyes were closed.

The only person who kept coming to mind was Naegi.

"Come on, dude! I like him. He's, you know... a good kid. People really seem to like him."

Hagakure actually wasn't sure if Naegi had friends other than himself. But Togami didn't need to know that.

"Hm."

Togami scowled. He didn't know much about this Naegi Makoto character other than he found him extremely irritating. He did suppose, however, that a simpleton such as the boy in question should be able to follow orders and handle the base errands he required in a timely manner. If he remembered correctly, another positive trait this Naegi possessed was a kind of lowly charm he imagined the masses would respond well to.

"He's rather like a dog, isn't he?"

"Well, his hair is kinda shaggy."

Togami crossed his arms, assuming his typical confident, self-satisfied posture.

"It's settled. I need you to bring your friend by later tonight. My room, six o'clock. Don't be late."

Hagakure groaned.

"Man, why do I have to do it? You can invite him yourself."

"And deprive you of the only use you have? I would never."

"You're lucky I like you, man, for some reason."

"You know the reason. Now, go and make that appointment. I have other things to do."

Togami turned his back, striding away with determination. His book was still missing and he needed to find it. It was most disconcerting that he hadn't yet. To think of what was in there... He chided himself for his carelessness, both in how much he documented in the book and how he had allowed himself to lose it. It was a grave error he would not make again; and he would get the book back as soon as possible.

He took out his cell phone and made a call.

 

♥♡♥

 

"Eggman!" While Naegi wasn't looking Hagakure tackled him and pulled him into a noogie.

"Hey, Hagakure! Come on, don't!"

Afternoon was approaching evening and the September sun was setting on Hope's Peak's front lawn. It hadn't gotten cold yet but darkness was falling ever so earlier each night. Lampposts were striking against the skyline. It was now a common theme with Naegi that he just wanted to get back to his dorm after classes because something, or many something's, had made the day overwhelming. Today had arguably been the worst thus far.

Hagakure laughed and continued to muss up Naegi's hair.

"Hey! Your hair looks like mine now!"

"W-what!? No!"

"You'll be a hit with the ladies looking like that, my man. Just follow my example." He let Naegi go and gave him a thumb up.

The shorter boy groaned and started trying to fix the mess.

"Honestly, dude, it really didn't look that great before. I mean, what's up with your hairstyle? You look like this kid I saw once on an old-fashioned American TV show... his name was like... Hula-hoop... uh, Half and Half... no, Alfalfa... yeah, that's it!"

Naegi had no idea what he was talking about. He did know that Hagakure of all people shouldn't be making fun of his hair.

"Anyway, I got a message for ya, bro."

"Not another prediction!"

"Nope! Even better. Togami wants to see you."

"Er, what?"

Hagakure rubbed the back of his head and shrugged, a huge smile on his face.

"Yup! He wants you to be his assistant... I don't know what for... he wants to go for a jog with the President of the United States or something. I didn't know you were an athlete, man. Or that you had connections to the White House."

"I'm not. And I don't!"

"Huh, well, he kept going on an on about running and presidents... oh well. I'm supposed to bring you back, dude, so let's go before he gets mad."

"Wait!"

"Come on, let's go."

Hagakure grabbed him by the arm and started dragging him off to the dorms. Before Naegi knew what was happening, he was standing outside Togami's door and Hagakure was slowly walking away.

"Aren't you going to stay?"

"Nope." The tall boy's face had suddenly turned grim, though he tried to hide it with a forced smile. "I got, uh, some stuff to take care of. Yeah. Catch ya later!"

Naegi wasn't sure why, but he felt concerned.

"Hey, Hagakure, are you okay?"

But the clairvoyant already disappeared around the corner.

Sighing, Naegi knocked and waited. He suddenly felt nervous as he experienced a bout of deja-vu from his meeting with the headmaster. Togami opened the door as promptly as could be expected. The Super High School Level Heir also looked as displeased as could be expected.

"You're several minutes late. At a party this is a faux pas; at least ten minutes late is the fashionable standard. For a business meeting this is a fatal error. By this time, someone else has already seized your window of opportunity. Don't worry; I will break you of this habit soon."

"Er…"

"No matter. As you will see, I am feeling extraordinarily generous today. Come in and have a drink."

"I--I think I'll pass on that--" Naegi hesitated as he stepped into the room. The way he recoiled at the suggestion informed Togami that this underdeveloped child had never tasted alcohol before. The quicker he remedied this handicap, the better.

Togami struggled to retain a critical retort. Instead, he leveled his tone and spoke plainly, yet with condescension.

"Naegi, I will let you in on a little secret of business. It's really common sense, but of course you lack that too." He couldn't hold back his insults for more than one sentence. "If your employer asks you to do something, you do it. Especially when you are at their mercy; but, as a general rule, it should be your first response to consent. If they ask you to take care of something, you take care of it. If they ask you to step on your coworker's shoes to rise to a new position, you do three times better--you stomp on said opponent's head. If they ask you to accompany them to a ski resort in the Italian Alps, even if you've never skied before, you are now an avid skier. If they offer you a drink, you drink."

"Now, with that in mind, come in," He increased the severity of his voice, "and have a drink."

Naegi gulped.

"O-of course, sir." It was the only appropriate response when put to him in this manner, like a gun held to his head.

He followed Togami over to what appeared to be a mini bar in the corner of his room. Naegi was so surprised Togami had a bar in his dorm that nothing seemed impossible to him anymore. In fact, his perception of what was possible and impossible was rapidly shifting since he had come to this school. He still couldn't believe he was almost expelled this morning for being unlucky.

Togami served him a glass of scotch.

"To a new business partnership." The shining heir to the Togami Conglomerate raised his glass with unrivaled elegance.

"I, uh, still don't really know what this is about--"

Togami gave him a razor-edged glare that stopped him mid-sentence. He felt like he was signing his soul to the devil, but raised his glass in turn.

"Er, cheers?"

They clinked their glasses together. Togami took his drink with ease; Naegi almost choked and barely managed to swallow. The poor boy sputtered and coughed.

"That's--that's very--strong--I--ugh."

"Of course it is. This is premium scotch. You may have a glass of wine if you prefer."

Naegi preferred not to drink at all, except he evidently didn't have a choice as Togami shoved a glass of wine into his hand.

Togami poured himself another scotch and gestured for Naegi to sit down with him at a neatly kept table. The seating arrangement did not look like it belonged to a sixteen-year-old boy. The table displayed an antique globe and a bust of a handsome, cunning face suspiciously similar to Togami's. It looked severe; it looked impressive; it looked expensive. Naegi's perception of the world shifted another degree.

"Now, to discuss the particulars of my proposal. I am a very busy man, as you well know. Since coming to this school my responsibilities have increased double. Something I did not expect, to be frank, but a positive development nonetheless. The more areas of life I dominate, the stronger the Togami Conglomerate becomes. This school and the network of exceptional individuals it associates itself with will soon be under the control of Togami Byakuya."

It sounded like a plan for world domination, but that didn't surprise Naegi either.

"It has come to the point where if I am going to get anything done around here, I'm going to need an assistant to do my bidding. That is where you come in, Naegi."

Naegi was stunned into silence.

"That oaf Hagakure is obviously unsuited to the task. He can barely handle being a lackey. I'm looking for someone to replace him as we speak, but I haven't the energy to spend on such a useless job. It is low on the list of priorities"

"Um." That sounded pretty harsh. Naegi had actually thought that Hagakure and Togami were friends up until this moment. It was very apparent now that he should never say the words 'Hagakure' and 'friends' out loud to Togami.

"For my personal assistant, I need someone malleable. Someone talentless but competent enough to receive specific orders, and yes, that is a sincere compliment. I need someone without a purpose of his or her own that I can form to my instruction. I offer this position to you, Naegi Makoto, and I trust you recognize that this a once in a lifetime opportunity."

Naegi was speechless. Throughout Togami's entire spiel he had waited for words to return to him but they had all but fled the scene. He didn't know which was more jarring: the level of belittlement he had just experienced or Togami's proposition itself.

"I really, uh," he struggled. "I didn't sign up for any of this--"

"And that is precisely why it is your good fortune that I have bestowed the opportunity upon you."

The words 'good fortune' clinked off the hollow space Togami's outrageous remarks had left in Naegi's brain and brought him back to consciousness. Kirigiri Jin's words echoed in his head:

_"You have until the end of the semester to display your Super High School Level Luck to the fullest. And if you cannot do this,_ _I **will** have to expel you from the Academy. For good."_

Perhaps this was exactly what he needed. He didn't like the idea--he couldn't even fully digest what it was he would have to do--but surely this chance at success was as good as any. For all he knew, this wasn't Togami's gift at all, but Lady Luck's sent to rescue him from a terrible fate.

Togami mistook Naegi's bewildered silence for intelligent consideration and clarified his terms.

"Of course, you are thinking, 'what's in it for me?' And that is the appropriate response. Only a base monkey wouldn't weigh a possible undertaking on the scale of personal advancement. Therefore, I will tell you exactly what you stand to gain from this arrangement."

"The obvious answer is privilege. You will have the ability to observe my daily goings-on, to study my methods firsthand. You will meet a great many influential people when attending to me at meetings. You will be able to go where I go: the exclusive events, the million-dollar dinners, the VIP section of any and every venue you can imagine."

"Yet, the biggest reward will be the way in which the world will open up for you, an average nobody who would otherwise content himself with the social involvement required to passively read the daily newspaper. So much more than that lowly existence could be yours."

Togami sat back, satisfied with his rhetoric, and finished off his scotch.

Despite himself, Naegi took a long, bitter swig of his wine.

"I guess--" He could hardly process what was happening to him, but he had to do something. He couldn't let himself just be expelled without a fight. He would need to take a leap of faith. "I guess I accept."

Togami smiled.

"As I knew you would." He reached across the table and slid a neat, thickly toothed piece of paper in front of Naegi and lent him a fountain pen from his breast pocket.

"Sign here and we have a deal."

"S-sign?" Naegi picked up the paper with two hands and squinted at the fine print. "Is this an official legal document?"

Togami blinked, blank-faced. He was genuinely taken aback by the question.

"Of course it is. How else would we solidify our agreement?"

There was no response. Naegi took a deep breath and scribbled his signature on the dotted line.

"Excellent." Togami put his own signature on the paper and dated it. "Now, I already have several assignments for you. The first is to deliver these invitations to the appropriate personnel."

He indicated a neat pile of crisp envelopes.

"Invitations? Like for a party?"

Togami sighed.

"It seems I have a lot of work ahead of me." He took off his glasses and cleaned them with his handkerchief. "You don't have it quite right. But, in layman's terms, I suppose... yes, a party. Here. Saturday night."

"But that's this weekend. And you mean... here, as in, your dorm room? Won't you get caught? How will everyone even fit?"

"Just deliver the invitations."

And that was the end of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i would just like to say thank-you so much to everyone who has provided feedback. it really means a lot to me and helps encourage me to go forward. :) it's very important to me to practice my writing skills and anything you have to say benefits my work.
> 
> i'm glad that people have said they don't find the chapters too long, because they only seem to be getting longer. ^^; it should cap off at about this point though. there are just too many characters to get to!
> 
> it's my goal to update this once a week because writing is pretty much all i'm doing in my spare time. that could obviously change at any point though so i hope people will be patient if updates become less frequent. i'm happy you guys want more and i'm able to provide it in a timely manner right now. :)
> 
> that said, i really enjoyed this chapter. i hope you do too. xo C


	5. Let Them Eat Macaroons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The invitations for Togami's party are delivered.

The morning rose outside the window of Naegi Makoto, Super High School Level Talentless Failure. The alarm clock feature on his eHandbook went off, resounding like emergency distress signals and lights screaming into the early dawn, reminding him he had to face another day. A second delayed, his cell phone alarm perked up like police and fire truck sirens joining the cry of the ambulance and he knew he was on the receiving end of disaster.

            Naegi picked up a pillow and smothered his face, groaning at the sound of the two alarms blaring in tandem. He raised the pillow and smashed it over his head repeatedly. He did not want to get up.

            He had just succeeded in silencing his electronics when the doorbell rang. He let himself fall back onto the bed with a sigh. All at once he witnessed a montage of horrible situations that could be shaping up behind the door. Perhaps it was Kirigiri Jin telling him he was expelled after all and that a cab was waiting for him outside. Or perhaps it was his doctor fumbling over a briefcase stuffed with medical paperwork detailing an incurable disease that had just been discovered and Naegi was the first patient to have contracted it. Or it was a terrorist with a bomb he planned to strap to Naegi's back and shove him into the main hall of the school with a bang. He even conceived the fleeting image of a giant teddy bear that wanted him executed.

            Naegi shrugged on his clothes; the same dull ensemble he had worn yesterday. He was too tired to care about how he looked. Adrenaline still lingered in his body, refusing to allow him to relax. He felt he was balancing on a tight rope above a bottomless canyon, and with the way things were at this school, that wouldn't be changing any time soon.

            He opened the door to a fresh-faced Kirigiri Kyouko smelling of soap and sweet mint. He practically fell over.

            "Kirigiri! Uh--u-um, good morning." No other words came to his aid.

            "Good morning."

            She crossed her arms and looked down at the floor as though what she was about to say was difficult for her. She wasn't one for small talk and cut straight to the point.

            "I'm sorry I may have... been a little harsh with you yesterday. I take my investigations very seriously."

            "I-investigations?" Naegi ran a hand through his hair, devoid of all dignity as he admired her with a bruised heart.

            Kirigiri looked at him as though he was daft. He immediately regretted asking and wished he had just played along in ignorance.

            "I'm the Super High School Level Detective. Investigating is what I do. Detective work has been passed down to me; it is my family's legacy... but here it's seen as nothing but a 'talent.'"

            That irritated her, he realized; that Hope's Peak recognized, categorized and classified her abilities. Kirigiri thought of her skills as a birthright, as an heirloom locked in a hope chest and stored near to her heart.

            "I wanted to let you know that while I can't command you to cooperate, any information you can offer me to help along my investigation would be appreciated."

            "You're investigating your father?"

            She gave him a look. He was beginning to know that look well. It was a look that told him just how much she didn't like him.

            "Will you walk with me?" She sighed, arms still crossed in front of her chest. He was sure she was just angry--defiant, even, of what, he didn't know--but something about her posture and the way she frowned gave him the impression she was cold. He wanted to give her his coat. "We'll have to be in class in half an hour, but we can stop by the dining hall for a coffee beforehand."

  
            "O-Of course!" Whether she merely wanted to interrogate him or not, he wasn't going to pass up a chance to talk to her. This girl was becoming more than just a crush to him; she was an enigma, a curious entity even more singular than any of her hyper-talented peers. He wanted to get to know her, to figure out just what she was about.

            After making sure he had everything he needed for the day, Naegi strolled out of the dorms at her side, watching her in a way that he hoped wasn't obvious.

            "Your ability is good luck, isn't it?" Kirigiri asked.

            "Y-Yeah, that's what they signed me up as." He couldn't hide his resentment.

            "You haven't been so lucky lately, though, have you?"

            His face reddened. How the entire school had learned of his ineptitude he did not know, but the fact that Kirigiri was aware of his lack of talent mortified him.

            "I know you've been trying to hide that from me. I don't judge, but since I know now, will you tell me what the headmaster said to you?" She was careful not to use the word 'father' this time.

            He sighed. If she already knew what a failure he was, he might as well tell her his story now and at least gain her respect for that.

            It was then that Kirigiri held out a hand to stop him. They were about to enter the cafeteria but she held him off to the corner of the hallway, eyes honed in on a slim girl with short dark hair who was standing alone, reading a school message board. The girl was plain; no features to distinguish her as exceptionally pretty, but nothing that made her unpleasant to look at either; yet her face bore absolutely no expression at all. She gave the impression of a soldier, devoid of personal attachment and focused only on a collaborative goal.

            He recognized her as the girl who had stormed out of Hagakure's tent; the one the clairvoyant had accused of being an alien. Naegi couldn't help himself but shake his head at Hagakure's silliness.

            "Stand back for a second."

            Naegi looked to Kirigiri.

            "What? Why?"

            Kirigiri was silent, watching the moves of the strange girl with calculating eyes.

            "That girl... Ikusaba Mukuro... I noticed her following me the other day."

            _Ikusaba Mukuro._

            He reached into his book bag and procured the stack of invitations Togami had given him. Just as he thought, Ikusaba Mukuro was one of the intended recipients. He sighed inwardly, frustrated with himself for his constant missteps. Togami would have his head if he didn't deliver these invitations. Forgetting Kirigiri's command to stand back, he darted over to Ikusaba, calling her name.

            "Hey, Ikusaba?"

            The soldier turned. She recognized him, too, though he didn't know it; he was the boy she discovered sneaking around the staff building with Kirigiri Kyouko.

            "Yeah?" Her tone of voice fell somewhere between timid and defensive.

            "I, uh, need to give this to you." He offered her the envelope with her name on it.

            "Hm? What is it?"

            "It's um, an invitation, for a party, I think--"

            He looked over his shoulder as he stuttered and noticed that Kirigiri was gone. He sighed audibly. How many times was he going to mess things up with her?

            "I have to go to class," he grunted.

            Kirigiri had just asked him to breakfast and he had ditched her. He suddenly didn't feel hungry.

            "But Togami Byakuya asked me to give that to you. The party's tomorrow. He, uh, sends his regards and hopes you will join him."

            Naegi couldn't recall what Togami had instructed him to say but figured that was good enough. He dashed away from Ikusaba, who stood staring at the paper in her hand.

 

♥♡♥

 

Naegi set out to deliver the rest of the invitations throughout the day, some to people he knew, others to those he didn't but recognized their faces from class. He was happy to see that one of the invites was going to Asahina Aoi. He presented her with it in Biology.

            "Huh? A party?" She studied the envelope like it was a foreign object.

            "Uh, yeah, I guess that's what it is. I don't really know what he has planned." That was Naegi Makoto, Super High School Level Clueless. Super High School Level 'Fetch Me a Black Tea.' Super High School Level Totally Will Be Expelled. Super High School Level Never Going to Get the Girl. Super High School Level Bad, Bad Luck.

            "I don't know how I feel about you now, Naegi," Asahina said, eyes flickering between him and the envelope in her hands. She scrunched her lips into a pout.           

            "What!? What do you mean?"

            "I don't know." She shook the invitation like she would the sand out of her shoes. "You've been so nice and cool and now you're hanging out with Togami!"

            "He's... he's not all that bad," said Naegi, shrugging. He couldn't believe his own words. Was he actually starting to like Togami? "If you come to the party you'll see. Besides, he's Hiro's friend, and that means he's my friend, too."

            "Hiro, huh? First name basis! Are you three having some kind of bromance!?

            Naegi's cheeks flushed red.

            "No! It's more of a nickname, a-and I'm just making friends." He may be a Super High School Level Loser, but he did have friends.

            "And you're my friend too, Asahina. Please come to the party? I don't know a lot of other people and it would make me happy if you were there."

            "Huh?" Her cheeks had turned pink. "Alright, if you really want me to come. It's settled! It'll be totally fun, yeah!"

            She pounded her fist in her hand.

            "And if Togami acts like a jerk, I'll have Sakura beat him up!"

            "Uhh..."

 

♥♡♥

 

Enoshima Junko, on the contrary, did not have any friends. Apparently, she wasn't even cool enough to be invited to the first party of the season.

"It was probably a mistake, Junko."

Ikusaba read and reread the letter. There was no mistake about it; the invitation was addressed to her. She didn't know why anyone would want her to come to a party, but the bigger question was why her charming, bubbly sister wasn't going either.

"That trust fund baby **bastard**. Why isn't he in despair over his precious little black book going missing!? People in despair don't throw parties!"

Ikusaba was rubbing her arm with a frown. She didn't know what to say.

"They don't throw parties, Mukuro!"

"If you don't like him then why are you so upset you didn't get invited?"

"You think that's what this is about?" Enoshima huffed. Her nostrils flared and her eyes dilated. "It's not about that, Mukuro. It's **never** about that. It's never about anything but despair, which for whatever reason I can't get through your thick skull. I wonder if whacking you with a baseball bat would thin out those extra layers a bit."

She reached out and tugged a strand of Ikusaba's hair.

"D-Don't say that, Junko." Ikusaba didn't mind the insults, but the threats were another story. She was never sure whether or not her sister was going to make good on them.

Enoshima wasn't listening. Her wheels were turning. She still had the book, and she was waiting for the perfect opportunity to use it. But there must be another way to make the young Togami despair before she played her trump card. If only she were to crash his party and trample his hopes and dreams into a bloody pulp... and terrorize a few party guests while she was at it...

A-ha. And there it was. The brilliant flash of scheming and nastiness she had been waiting for. Perhaps masterminding was her true talent.

"Well, it seems things have worked out better than expected."

"What do you mean?" Ikusaba raised an eyebrow, wanting to mention the change in Enoshima's tone of voice but thinking the better of it.

"Only you are attending the event. And only you, a great heartbreak of a sister, would be likely to fail to inflict precious achings of despair at such an event. If you acted on your own, that is."

"What do you mean?"

"What if I could watch what you were doing and give you exact instructions while you walked amongst the victims? And then no one would know I was behind it all!"

"That sounds like a good idea, sis, but how would you do that?"

"Upupu. Upupupupu."

 

♥♡♥

 

Celestia Ludenberg surveyed the expanse of Hope's Peak Academy's central courtyard like it belonged to her. And, as far as she was concerned, it did. The noble grounds were her estate; the world was her stage. She did feel it could be less sunny, however.

Yamada Hifumi loomed over her, holding a black lace umbrella to protect the girl's delicate porcelain complexion from the harsh rays of the sun. Being primarily a fashion accessory, the umbrella did not do much to abate the sunlight. Fortunately, Yamada's height and girth did.

She was eating a cucumber sandwich wrapped in a neat white napkin, surrounded by her subjects. She sat perched on the top step of the courtyard stairway, as she had taken to occupying each day at lunch. It allowed her an ideal view of her domain. The incident with Enoshima had not frightened her off from reigning as Hope Peak's social queen. If anything, the challenge had ignited Celestia's competitive nature and fueled her drive to reach the top.

Already she had acquired three handmaidens and a butler to serve her. It was most impressive. To her right sat Arai Hitomi, a champagne blonde with big blue eyes, appropriately decked out in a candy-colored sweet Lolita ensemble. Arai was the Super High School Level Fashion Designer and Celestia's personal stylist. To her left, Yanagi Masami, a brunette in rigid classic Lolita dress so historically accurate she resembled actual Austrian royalty. Yanagi was the Super High School Level Interior Designer and also under Celestia's employ.

A few steps down from them sat a jittering Fujisaki Chihiro, not dressed in true Lolita fashion, though her casual full skirt and cardigan ensemble passed well enough for entrance into Celestia's clique. Fujisaki was the well-known Super High School Level Programmer, and Celestia Ludenberg, being the left-brained mathematician she was, recognized the importance of keeping help with exceptional mental acuity to balance out her shallow beauticians.

Lastly, and most despairingly, there was Yamada Hifumi, the hopeless lecher and total sham of a butler. In Celestia Ludenberg's personal ranking system, Yamada ranked F Minus. She was aware F Minus wasn't an actual grade, but she felt the additional character necessary to convey Yamada's worthlessness. A lady couldn't be without a butler, however, and so he would have to do until she was able to enchant some lovely gentlemen to take his place. Perhaps gentlemen with sharp, pointed teeth.

Disgruntled by so much imperfection, she switched her focus to more pressing matters.

"Fujisaki, did you retrieve the stationery I sent you on errand for?" Celestia began her round of questions.

"U-um, y-yes, Miss Celestia." The timid boy squeaked, cheeks turning a warm pink. "I-I'm pretty sure it's the one you wanted…"

Shivering, Fujisaki fumbled in his bag and procured a package of clean black letterheads embossed with red velvet filigree and accompanied by matching envelopes.

"Lovely."

Arai was scribbling in a large hardcover book, making marks and then frantically erasing them.

"Let me see that." Celestia snatched the sketchbook from her, skimming the figures and their various lace blouses and frilled jackets.

"You'll need to fix this. I don't like the shape of that lapel."

Arai blushed and nodded, taking her sketchbook back from Celestia and burying her face in it.

Celestia finished her sandwich.

"Yanagi, my macaroons?"

The brunette procured a small box tied with a ribbon and offered it up to her queen.

"Two chocolate; two strawberry; two vanilla; and two orange cream. Well done."

Yanagi looked satisfied with herself while Arai rolled her eyes. The two were in constant competition for Celestia's favor, and this was exactly how Celestia wanted her minions to behave.

She was opening the box when a peasant petitioner disturbed her carefully kept court. He stood before her in faded dress clothes and if her eyes weren't deceiving her, sneakers. Sneakers caked in mud as if the wearer had trudged through the dirt while sopping wet.

Yanagi laughed and Arai merely put her hand to her mouth, bright blue eyes widening to match those of the pink kitties that adorned her hair. Fujisaki cocked his head to the side and spoke.

"N-Naegi, right?"

Naegi Makoto had been staring. He had never seen such extravagantly dressed, doll-like girls in his life. They looked like they belonged on Komaru's dresser with her stuffed animals. He was wondering if they were statues as he cowered at the bottom of the steps in their shadow until one of them had spoken.

"Oh, Fujisaki." He smiled at the small boy. "I remember you from, um, the other day."

The memory of his near death was cause for despair.

Fujisaki's face fell and tears crept to the corners of his eyes.

"I'm still s-so sorry I didn't c-catch the baseball..."

Naegi waved his hands in front of his face.

"Hey, no need for any more apologies! I'm alright."

"Ahem." Celestia Ludenberg did not like to be ignored. She was the main character of the story and the plot revolved around her. "And why are you here?

"Oh, right." Naegi rummaged in his bag. "Are you Celestia Ludenberg?"

Her mouth twitched with anger, but she held it in. She could not lash out at court.

"Yes, I am she. I can't imagine why there would be any question of that."

"W-well, I have an invitation to give you." He offered it up with a nervous hand.  
Celestia eyed it suspiciously. What was this peasant doing here offering her invitations? She debated it a moment before deciding it was worth looking at.

"Yanagi, hand it to me." Celestia commanded without even looking at Naegi.

The brunette snatched the envelope from him and presented it to Celestia, who was trying her best to look elegant and bored.

"My apologies. I believe I have a prior commitment and won't be able to attend your party."

"It's not my party, uh, Miss Celestia." He glanced around at her company searching for approval that he had addressed the Queen of Lies correctly. "It's Togami Byakuya's. I'm just delivering the invitations."

"Togami Byakuya?" Celestia took a closer look at the invitation. "Interesting."

She smiled. It was a mischievous, intelligent smile that gave the distinct impression she was privy to information that could very well determine one's own well being. It consequently made one agitated and wary of what she may do with this information while they remained in her company.

"Well then, do tell Mr. Togami that my calendar has suddenly opened up. Naegi was it?"

"Yeah. I mean, yes, Miss Celest--"

"You may call me Celes." The queen raised her hands to her chin, the sharp platinum ring she wore gleaming in the sunlight. "All my friends do."

"We don't call you Celes." Arai and Yanagi muttered in tandem while Fujisaki scratched the side of his head. Yamada had stopped paying attention, unable to hear them from the recesses of his fantasies involving Celestia in magical girl transformation sequences, sans the censorship.

"That's because you aren't my friends."

 

♥♡♥

 

Enoshima Junko scampered over to the North school building where the computer science and technology labs were located. She was looking for a certain Super High School Level Spec Ops Developer by the name of Ikehara Jirou. He was an expert on kinematics, mechanics, physics, thermodynamics, materials science, structural analysis, English, atomic physics, spectroscopy, chemistry, and a long list of various other specialties that even Enoshima Junko couldn't pronounce. It was also well known that Ikehara fancied himself to be a playboy extraordinaire and bragged constantly about the scandalous rendezvous he partook in on business travels, sleeping with models in London, Belize, Prague, New York, Venice, Hong Kong, Amsterdam, Sydney, and again, a long list of foreign cities that even Enoshima Junko couldn't pronounce.

But she didn't need to say much to accomplish what she needed.

"Oh, Ikehara!"

Enoshima wandered into the Cage, a rental center for students to borrow electronic and scientific equipment for their projects. Enoshima thought it was a shame that a room with such a cool name was used to store a bunch of boring junk, but there was nothing she could do about that. Things would be a lot different, though, if she were the headmaster of Hope's Peak.

"E-Enoshima!" Ikehara was working at the rental desk, playing with one of his inventions. He flipped his hair back and tried to look cool. "What, ah, what can I do for you?"

"Ooh, is that the **super secret** special spy camera you were telling us about in Algebra?" She leaned over the counter, purposefully giving the boy a super special view into her bra.

"Oh--ah--um, yeah. T-totally. I invented it myself." He spoke right into her cleavage, not averting his eyes for a second. "I plan to send it off to my client later, some ah, big name government officials in the Middle East. High profile stuff. I obviously, uh, couldn't tell you about any of it, since it's top secret."

"That's **so** cool." Enoshima gave him her most seductive smile. "I wish I could understand it, but I'm not that smart."

She pouted, twirling a strand of strawberry blonde hair around her finger. Ikehara was transfixed.

"Do you happen to have a regular camera here I could borrow? I need to take some pictures for my modeling portfolio."

"P-pictures? What kind of pictures?"

"Oh!" She giggled, hiding her lips behind her hand. "I can't say! But maybe… I could show you. I can't be the photographer **and** the model at once, after all."

Ikehara almost fell out of his seat.

"Oh, um, right. Of course you couldn't. Y-yeah, I'll totally help you. Let me go grab a camera. Be right back." He disappeared into the mess of closets and shelves in the back of the Cage.

Enoshima giggled, scooping up the spy camera and all of the wires and cables that went along with it. She double-checked to make sure she got everything, and was good to go when she noticed Ikehara's laptop was sitting dangerously close to the edge of the counter.

In one graceful motion she twirled around, knocked the computer onto the floor and skipped out of the room, a sickening crash and snap of a screen followed by a clatter of parts echoing in the lab behind her.

" **Oops**."

 

♥♡♥

 

"How many times have you been held back again, Hagakure?" Togami asked, making conversation while he was being dressed.

After classes ended, the three of them had found their way into the downtown Fashion District of the city where Togami got his clothes tailored. The heir had decided to provide both of his cohorts with outfits for his upcoming event.

He had been pleased when Naegi informed him he had given out all of the invitations, but Hagakure was still trying his patience. The clairvoyant had already ripped the lining of a jacket that priced two hundred thousand yen when he tried to pull it over his head still buttoned.

"I've been held back... let's see, one, two, three times now. Can you believe it?" Hagakure grinned as he straightened his coat. He was exceptionally high and found visiting the tailor immensely fun. It was like playing dress up.

"Hey, three times, that's like, thirty percent! I'm just full of three's, my man. Good things come in threes. Gemini, the twins, the third sign of the zodiac. Three wise men; three blind mice; I'll grant you three wishes and the only rules are you can't bring anybody back from the dead and you can't make anyone fall in love with you."

"You are a class act, Hagakure."

"It's so true, isn't it?" Hagakure smiled a wide, trusting smile reminiscent of one belonging to the plump Buddha atop a mountain in blissful solitude, contemplating world peace.

Naegi regarded his friend with a look of wonder. It was quiet moments like these, he was discovering as he got to know Hagakure, that made him truly believe the boy was a Super High School Level Clairvoyant. It was heart-warming to realize the first friend he had made really was something special.

Something so special that nothing would ever bring him back to earth, Naegi thought, witnessing Hagakure's otherworldly glow. Nothing except for the cut and dry, no nonsense, all business Togami Byakuya.

"I was being sarcastic, if that word is in your vocabulary."

"It's really true though. No matter how many times you wish or pray or shoot at stars... you can never bring anybody back from the dead... or make anybody fall in love with you... an-y-bod-y..."

Hagakure played with his hair in the mirror, checking himself out. He thought he looked damn good.

"Man, I clean up nice, huh?"

Naegi was looking at his feet, shaking them out and biting his lip in dismay of the length of his pants. They would need to be hemmed at least three inches. He felt despicably short and kept rotating his ankles as if the motion would make his legs grow.

"I don't need wishes to make someone fall in love with me," said Togami, stiff as a statue while the little old man modified his outfit. "Wishes are an invention of the poor."

"You know what Confucius said..." Hagakure clapped Naegi on the back with a grin. "Money can't buy you love."

"Money can buy you anything."

Music and vibrations emanated from Hagakure's pocket.

"And speaking of your meaningless obsession with the number three, that's the third time your phone has rang since we've been here. Will you answer it?"

Hagakure blanched. The last thing he wanted to do was answer the phone. It kept going off, playing a groovy jam, and the tailor looked at him with distaste while he hemmed Togami's jacket cuffs.

"Well?"

With a look of pure terror Hagakure excused himself to the hallway, answering the phone as he went.

"Hello? Yes, this is Hagakure."

Naegi had never heard his friend talk in such proper and calm manner.

Not long after, Togami also received a phone call. Seeing who was calling, the blonde immediately apologized to the tailor and ducked behind the dressing room door. Naegi felt both left out and suspicious, not to mention worried for both of his companions.

"Did you find it? …No, I am not rushing you… No, I am not angry..." Togami sounded extremely angry, but maybe that was just Naegi's opinion.

Naegi felt it was rude to listen in on Togami's conversation, so he tried to fill his mind with his own thoughts. _Kirigiri Kyouko._ He was mad at himself for thinking about her so much. He needed to focus on his own business. Homework was done. His task as Togami's assistant...

 _Crap, that's right._ He had one invitation left to deliver: none other than Kirigiri Kyouko's. He had avoided her all day after their expedition in the morning but there were no more invitations left but hers, and he resolved he would simply slide the envelope under her door later.

Togami's voice rose in volume from the other room.

"'It's complicated' is not an acceptable answer… No, I did **not** let anyone into my room or borrow any of my things, why on **earth** would I do that? ...No, I am not talking down to you. …Are you mocking me? …You'll be there tomorrow night? Fine. Ciao."

He came back into the room with a scowl, studying Naegi's new wardrobe.

"You'll need that suit hemmed, but you finally look like a decent human being. It's about time you got some dress shoes. I'm having those rotten sneakers you've been wearing incinerated." Insulting Naegi seemed to relieve Togami's stress.

Meanwhile, Hagakure had completely disappeared.

"Should we look for him?"

"Of course not. He probably fell into the toilet. In which case he is not allowed in the limo and will have to walk home."

Naegi had a bad feeling about the situation but shortly found himself literally pinned in place as the tailor had moved on to fixing his pants.

After descending the spiffy glass elevator fourteen floors, Hagakure walked out of the high rise and was promptly assaulted. Two burly men in dark sunglasses emerged from an alley and threw him against the wall in the shadowed darkness.

"Where's the money, man?"

"We gave you the drugs, now where's the cash!?"

Hagakure sniffled and whimpered. He was not cut out for this. He was made for the rainforests; made for Indian palaces and opium dens in the south of France; made for the beach and waves and grass and crystals. He was not made for being pummeled in an alley because he had scammed the wrong person. He would accept being held back in school ten years if he could take back that mistake.

"I don't have it yet! I-I'm working on it."

"You still owe us fifty million yen. You better be fucking 'working on it!'"

Caught by the collar, Hagakure squirmed against the side of the building. He prayed to Buddha and Shiva and Moses that he'd escape this encounter alive.

"I promise! I promise I'll get it! Just let me go!"

The man released him, only for his partner to grab hold of Hagakure's new shirt and shove him into a pile of garbage.

"Sell the drugs to those rich prep school punks; scam some other poor bastard out of his fortune; whatever you have to do to pay us back, do it. We'll be in touch."

They disappeared as quickly as they came, leaving Hagakure to collect himself alone in the alleyway.

Togami would be absolutely furious when he found out he had ruined another suit.

 

♥♡♥

 

Back at Hope's Peak's dormitory building, two sisters were having a pillow fight.

"Come on, Mukuro, fight back!"

Enoshima was whacking her sister over the head with a pillow. Feathers flew out of it in a cartoonish display. Ikusaba sat on the floor, just taking the hits with a frown.

"Fight back, dammit! Fight. Back. Now." Enoshima punctuated each word with an attack.

Ikusaba did not want to fight with Enoshima, even in a playing manner. But it had gotten to the point where not fighting had upset her sister more than fighting would, and Ikusaba did not like to upset Enoshima.

The Super High School Level Soldier put her palm to the ground and pushed herself up with a roundhouse kick knocking Enoshima onto her behind. Ikusaba picked up her own weapon--a pillow printed with bows and bunnies, while Enoshima touted the one ornamented with teddy bears--and struck.

"That's it!" Enoshima was grinning at the pain of having crashed into the floor. "Hit me again!"

Ikusaba was concerned but Enoshima hurled at her with the pillow and blocked out her disapproving face.

"Watch out, Junko! You're going to break all the camera stuff you found!"

Enoshima grumbled, but merely butted Ikusaba away from the desk and over to the bed. She put two hands on the pillowcase, heaving as if it were a sack of bricks, and whipped it at her sister, who narrowly dodged and fell onto the bed.

"Junko--!"

A knock on the door.

Ikusaba jumped and scrambled over to the desk.

Enoshima Junko opened the door with a look of childish agitation, like the knocker was a parent bothering her in the middle of a game to do her homework. Ikusaba stood in the back of the room, staring at her toes, the camera equipment hidden behind her back.

On the other side of the door was Ishimaru Kiyotaka in his perfectly pressed hall monitor uniform and military boots, standing up straight as a board without a single indication of a slouch having ever tainted his posture. A look of surprise passed over Ishimaru's face for a second, but he recovered with the trained discipline of a soldier. Ikusaba admired him.

"Ah, good evening, Enoshima! Good to see you look well." He peered over the blonde's shoulder at Ikusaba. "Oh, and Miss Ikusaba! Always a pleasure!"

"Oh, hi, Ishimaru." Ikusaba tried her best to be pleasant. She looked down at her feet again as Enoshima shot a death glare.

"What do you want?"

"Right! I'm making my rounds through the dorms to make sure everything is in order! I'm sure you are aware that night time hours are approaching and students must return to their own rooms!" He was smiling, clearly thrilled by his job. "I would certainly be willing to escort Miss Ikusaba back now!"

Enoshima rolled her eyes.

"Does everything you say have an exclamation point at the end?"

"Ah! I'm not sure I quite understand you, Miss Enoshima!"

"Everything you say." She hissed. "Does it end in an exclamation point?"

"Not that I'm aware of!"

"Get lost." Enoshima made to close the door, but Ishimaru stopped her. He looked at his watch.

"It is now night time! Ikusaba, you may come with me, I'm heading up to your floor now!"

"She's staying."

"Ah! But the regulations--!"

"She's my sister."

Enoshima slammed the door in his face.

 

♥♡♥

 

NIGHT TIME.

A GLIMPSE INTO THE HIGH SCHOOL LIFE OF ISHIMARU KIYOTAKA.

Super High School Level Hall Monitor Ishimaru Kiyotaka left Enoshima Junko's room with a deeply set frown on his face. He was facing the challenge of his life being the acting Hall Monitor and RA of the Seventy Eighth class. Ishimaru had originally thought that unlike his previously harsh public school environments, Hope's Peak Academy would be one of gracefulness, manner and repose.

He never expected he would be confiscating donuts and other pastries several times a day from a repeat offender who insisted on eating them in class.

He never expected he would need to reason with Mean Girls who played Queen of the Mountain on the courtyard steps and made other girls cry because their skirts didn't have enough ruffles.

            He never expected to be interrupted once an hour while writing an essay to silence Kuwata Leon in the neighboring dorm as the self-styled punk performed his rendition of 'Rock the Casbah' at full volume. Ishimaru did not like it. He liked it even less when Kuwata substituted Ishimaru's name for the 'Sharif' who similarly disapproved of the raucous banging.

            Though her singing was much more pleasant, Ishimaru also never expected he would have to tell the unassuming Maizono Sayaka that she couldn't practice her scales in the hallway outside the library, even if the height of the ceiling did provide great acoustics.

            He never expected to attend class with a student who coerced money from others in exchange for fraudulent psychic analysis. He wouldn't have even imagined it. Soliciting money on school property--it was absolutely preposterous!

            Togami Byakuya, whom Ishimaru expected would have the decency to be respectful in a school environment, repeatedly answered phone calls and stepped out into the hallway to have private business conversations while teachers were lecturing.

            He never expected to be the one to inform a Super High School Level Gang Leader that he had parked his motorcycle in Headmaster Kirigiri's spot and would need to move it.

            Or that he would need to stop an ultimate programmer from working on his computer when the teacher was showing a PowerPoint presentation in a darkened room.

Even the headmaster's own daughter was a handful. She refused to show up on time for class and sometimes went missing all together. Ishimaru would find her in offices she wasn't supposed to be in; listening to conversations she wasn't supposed to be a part of; and quite frankly frolicking around everywhere she wasn't supposed to be. Ishimaru Kiyotaka firmly believed the only place for students was the classroom and a classroom was the only place in the entire school Kirigiri Kyouko didn't seem able to find. He told her again and again that she was required to attend lessons and had even gone so far as to bring the silver-haired girl a freshly printed copy of her schedule in case she genuinely did not know it. The detective had merely blinked and walked away.

Ishimaru counted his blessings, though, since he had yet been forced to contend with the high school issues he feared most; the dangerous misdemeanors committed by teenagers who did not possess his virtuous moral code. These major offenses were what he called the "Three D's": Drinking, Drugs, and Doing It.

He shuddered.

God willing he wouldn't have to deal with any of that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took a little while longer, guys. it seems i was a tad hasty with my once a week promise. the chapters are long and i am editing it all by myself. i've mentioned multiple times that i'm looking for a beta but no one's volunteered. i don't *mind* honestly, because i'm a perfectionist and have control issues, but having another person's input and fresh eyes really would rock, if anyone was interested. i get that it's totally a lot of work and i don't blame anybody for not wanting to, though. LOL.
> 
> i decided to give the chapters lame corny titles. idk. i'm developing the whole concept of this thing as it goes; new sub plots, new twists, new sub characters (did you enjoy Ishimaru? and Yamada and Fujisaki as Celes' minions?), new pairings potentially (though the core ones in the description won't shake as endgame).
> 
> again, i hope you don't mind the OC's! i just love the idea of Celes surrounded by little copycat Loli's in various styles of dress. i'm trying to keep the OC's to a minimum, but i do feel they're necessary here and there to round out our kids' high school experience, so hopefully you don't hate them too much. i swear on my coffin they're not even minor characters; just background.
> 
> that said, i hope you guys are happy with the character and relationship development and haven't found it too slow. i wanted to lay groundwork that was realistic and establish everyone on their own before getting to the shipping. WHICH IS COMING, as we're approaching a big event in which everyone will come together.
> 
> are you ready for the party? xo C


	6. There's Something About Mukuro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the first high school party of love and despair.

**_The Weekend. Day Time._ **

The radiant light of an Indian summer bathed the dormitory yard in gold. Naegi and Hagakure reclined beneath a shady tree. Despite it being before noon, Hagakure Yasuhiro was stuffing his face with a hamburger and french fries. Naegi thought it was weird, but according to Hagakure, being able to eat burgers for breakfast was just one of the many perks of sleeping in.

Naegi regarded his friend with a smile. He was grateful to have support through what promised to be a harrowing semester. He was over being afraid; the fact that he had to fight for his spot in the Seventy-eighth Class of the Academy was undeniable. Now it was time to figure out what to do about it. He only wished his talent could be optimism as opposed to luck.

Asahina Aoi waved to him from across the lawn. She was surrounded by her teammates, stretching for a workout. Naegi admired the dedication of the team for getting together on a Saturday while Hagakure admired Asahina.

"Hey, Eggy, you know that girl?" he asked with a mouth full of hamburger.

"Yeah, you do too--she's in our Bio class. Her name's Asahina Aoi."

"Well, damn, Asahina has a fine ass."

Naegi almost spit out his iced tea.

"What, you don't agree?" Hagakure stared dreamily at the girl in the distance.

"Yeah, I--NO, no, that's not what I'm saying, it's just like--"

"Like she has a fine ass, yeah, because she totally does. Nice boobs too."

Naegi turned scarlet and coughed while Hagakure merely shook his head. The older boy put a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Man, you need to smoke."

"But--!"

"Relax dude, you need to re-lax. Chill. Be cool."

He didn't counter.

"I am cool…" Naegi couldn't even convince himself as the words left his mouth.

The two started chuckling together, Hagakure patting Naegi on the back.

Togami strode up to them, looking as dapper as ever in a pair of chinos and a light sweater. His right hand may as well have been surgically attached to his cell phone.

"Good morning, Togami," said Naegi while Hagakure chewed on the straw of his soda.

"What is the meaning of this, Naegi?"

Naegi was immediately startled. He didn't think he had done anything wrong.

"Meaning of what?"

"Of this outfit you're wearing. I thought when we visited my tailor I made my expectations for your appearance completely clear."

"I, uh... thought it looked okay when I got dressed..." Naegi blushed.

He might not have a stylish flair about him, but he really had tried to clean himself up according to Togami's stipulations. Not able to locate an error in his dress, he opted to draw attention away from himself.

"Either way," Naegi pointed out, "Hagakure doesn't look presentable!"

"Hey! I resent that, you little egghead--!"

"That is because Hagakure is a hopeless ruffian--"

"--Wow, dude. Just, wow---"

"--And you, you are my prodigy, my little project. For which you should feel quite proud of yourself. I have high hopes for you. And if you are to rise to the occasion as my assistant, there can be absolutely no fashion errors--"

"--I forgot, this loser's also the Super High School Level Fashion Police--"

"--Hagakure, I am not listening to you--Naegi, this is unacceptable. C Minus. I am disappointed in your lack of effort. This will not do."

"I--I'm sorry, Togami, I'll clean up by tonight!"

"Jesus, the Holy Ghost and Hera, you're really taking this bastard seriously--"

"As should you, Hagakure." Togami stopped him with folded arms and a scoff. "Tonight needs to be perfect. No mistakes. Not a single one. Not even an untucked shirt. You are each essential to the plan."

"Which is… what again?" Naegi scratched his head.

"Do you completely lack the ability to retain information? What am I paying you for?"

"You're, uh, you're not paying me…" Naegi mumbled. Hagakure coughed in consent.

"Tonight is very important for us. This is our opportunity to learn more about our classmates, to discern who has potential. To make partnerships that will be useful in the future. I cannot make it clear enough to you…gentlemen…that tonight is to be a sample of networking at its finest."

He consented to the word 'gentlemen' in order to maintain credibility in his declaration. Calling them imbeciles wouldn't have sounded nearly as impressive. He knew better than to sacrifice class for wit. Sometimes.

"Tonight I will officially announce my candidacy for President of Hope's Peak Academy's Student Council."

Naegi sighed. He wasn't sure he was altogether ready for this. Hagakure only blinked.

"You want a french fry, man?"

 

♥♡♥

 

Enoshima Junko dressed her sister for the party. She didn't need a tailor to do it. Her closet, or more approximately her clothing-covered floor, would do just fine.

"You're lucky we're the same size, Muku, or else you'd have to show up in that super gross military uniform of yours." Enoshima threw clothes at her sister's head as she dug through the piles.

"I do have bigger boobies than you," she teased, giving her sister a wink with eyes twinkling as they did when she took on her sweet and innocent air, "but I forgive you."

"Forgive me for what?" Ikusaba held up a dress and studied it.

"For not being me."

"That's an odd thing to say..."

"A-ha!"

Enoshima jumped up and down.

"This is perfect!"

The item in question was a skin-tight pink dress with a heart-shaped cutout on the chest.

"I really don't... _no_ , Junko..."

 

♥♡♥

 

 ** _sound track_ // [listen here @ 8tracks](http://8tracks.com/if-youhaveghosts/elevators)**  
(this is a small playlist i listened to while writing. i thought it would be fun to provide it for those who would like. if not, please pardon the interruption. x)

**_The Weekend. Night Time, Well Advanced._ **

Dorm 5C in Hope's Peak's dormitory building had been transformed into a small private lounge. Soft purple tones glowed from the floor behind chairs to color the walls. The mini bar was lighted along the edges and from above, illuminating puddles of water and liquor that had already accumulated.

Naegi felt lost at sea. His legs were wobbly from two glasses of champagne and he watched the crowd flow and dip to the tune of the music. Laughter echoed across the floor and every clink of glass on the tables and trays was like a spatter of rain from the storm outside the boat.

The party had begun slowly at first. Deliverymen arrived with crates of champagne. Naegi thought such an occurrence awe-inspiring at first, but looking back through the haze of the night it seemed commonplace. People had trickled into the room slowly; first one, then a pair, and three was a party that grew and grew. Naegi had no idea how so many people fit in Togami's dorm room.

The bed had completely disappeared. Hagakure explained that he had unscrewed the boards and hid them in his room. The clairvoyant had leaned the mattress up against the wall, which had been draped all along the way with black curtains, concealing other odd objects that had been pushed to the sides, and, of course, the windows. The desk was serving as a buffet table with cheese and crackers, olives, bread, fresh cut meats, strawberries, grapes, and more bottles of champagne and wine. The central table was also missing, and Naegi had no idea where the dressers had gone. How all of this had been moved Naegi had no clue, as he had been picking up pastries and flowers downtown while the transformation occurred.

The fuzzy recollection of consuming some of Togami's scotch while riding solo in the heir's private limo came back to him, and Naegi realized that had probably not been a good idea.

**_x_ **

"Mukuro, what the fuck are you doing?" Enoshima poured over her scrappy pink laptop in her dorm room. She watched the party from the spy camera concealed by a bow on the choker necklace she lent her sister. "You've been standing in the fucking same place for like twenty minutes."

"I... I don't know what to do at a party, Junko," came Ikusaba's timid voice through the tiny microphone.

"Get another glass of alcohol."

"I haven't had any yet. You know that, Junko, since you've been watching..."

Enoshima was sloppily painting her nails and almost knocked the bottle over.

"I thought the screen was frozen for a bit." She stopped. "So wait, you've been standing there for a fucking half hour without even a goddamn drink in your hand? What the actual fuck, Mukuro!?"

"I just... didn't know..."

"Go make yourself a drink right now!"

Enoshima grunted and pounded a fist on the desk, smearing red nail polish all over her fingers and palm. It looked like she had just committed murder.

"You're such a disappointment, Mukuro."

Enoshima Junko was thoroughly displeased with the general level of despair at the party. It was in fact nonexistent. She needed her sister, who was clueless and stupefied, to take action.

On the other side of the screen, Asahina Aoi was smiling at passersby and eating a cookie. It was probably the fourth pastry Asahina had put into her mouth since her stupid ponytail had bobbed into the camera view.

Honestly, how much could that girl eat?

Asahina's smile was so big it made Enoshima want to puke. Why would anyone ever smile that much? Her face must hurt from smiling.

"Mukuro, go say something horrible to that girl over there."

"Horrible?" Ikusaba muttered.

She talked out of the corner of her mouth like an amateur ventriloquist, directing her words into the earpiece she wore to communicate with Enoshima. This wasn't necessary; Enoshima could hear her even if she spoke regularly, just like she could hear what was going on at the party. But Ikusaba could never shake the feeling of Enoshima standing over her shoulder.

"What do you mean 'horrible'?"

"Something despair-worthy. Something that will make her feel badly about herself."

"Like what?"

"Do you really need me to tell you every single thing to say?" Enoshima spat. "Put in some freakin' effort, sis. Think about it."

**_x_ **

Asahina Aoi was nervous. It wasn't that her outfit was slightly revealing, for she was comfortable with her body, always wearing a bathing suit and her small gym shorts; it was the fact that she was 'dressed up.' Asahina had always been a tomboy growing up. She was never 'with' the boys, as other girls her age were; she was one of the boys. As she got older, she knew that those suspicious members of the opposite sex looked at her, but she never purposely tried to get their attention. She never wore makeup.

Asahina's party dress was cute, but she wished she were in her gym clothes and sneakers instead.

To make matters worse, Oogami had to go home for the weekend, leaving Asahina to hang solo like the cracked half of their friendship necklace. She felt incomplete. She had already met and chatted with Naegi, but the boy had been dragged away by Togami on various occasions and she hadn't wanted to be a burden following him around all night.

So, Asahina was alone. She supposed being apart of team sports her whole life made her need the support of others to feel good, but regardless, an unaccompanied Asahina was not a happy Asahina.

Drink in hand, she wandered over to the dessert table. Eating pastries always lifted her spirits, and there were plenty on display. There was also girl with short dark hair and freckles by the table, pouring a drink. Asahina smiled at her.

"You're going to eat all of that?" Ikusaba attempted her best impression of Enoshima, tuning her voice to the right pitch and delivering her words with meanness. "Won't you get fat?"

Asahina turned completely red and stared blankly at the table.

"Umm..."

"That's... gross."

Asahina stared at her plate, feeling miserable. All she wanted to do was leave and go for a jog or swim a few laps. She didn't want anyone to look at her. She started to put her pastries back on the table, hoping nobody would see.

"Yo, you don't want that? Can I have it!?"

Hagakure appeared behind Asahina, snatching the powder puff right out of her hand and gobbling it.

"Um, excuse me?"

"Om'sorreh," he said with his mouth full. "T'loohked sho gud."

Asahina watched the boy with wide eyes. His dreads were tied in a low ponytail and he wore what was very clearly an expensive suit, making for an odd combination.

"Dhamn! I gut'da munchiez!"

After stuffing two more powder puffs and a strawberry in his mouth, Hagakure finally recognized that the girl he had taken the pastry from was super hot. It also occurred to him that he had seen her before and made the same observation.

"'Ey, yur nhame." He finally swallowed his food. "Asahina Aoi, right?"

He sincerely hoped he hadn't gotten it wrong. First impressions were very important, he recalled Togami saying to him on multiple occasions.

"T-That's right. Have we met?"

"I have class with you, I think. Or that's what Nuggie said."

"Who?"

"Naegi!"

Asahina relaxed. Finally, someone she had some familiarity with, even if it was just a mutual friend.

"You're Naegi's friend? Oh--I got it! Hiro!" She blushed, not meaning to refer to him by his first name. "Well, uh..."

"Hagakure." He smiled.

She let out an easy laugh, feeling more like herself.

"That's a really nice suit. It must've cost thousands of yen!"

"Huh?" Hagakure looked down at himself and tugged at his jacket and tie. "I don't know how much it cost. Togami bought it for me."

Asahina's jaw dropped.

"He bought it for you?"

"Yup! Spiffy old chap." Hagakure imitated what he thought was a British accent but sounded more like a drugged Mickey Mouse. "Right-o, I'm Togami. Charitable bastard when I want to be. Look at all my money."

Asahina was speechless for a few moments. She blinked. Then she laughed out loud.

"I hate this thing, though." Hagakure undid his tie and threw it, uncaring of where it landed. "It's so freakin' uncomfortable, I can't stand it."

"I know," said Asahina with a glum face. She swirled her champagne and tried to take another sip. "I don't like dressing up."

"You look really pretty, though!"

"W-what?"

"Hey, hey! Don't think I'm a creep or anything!" He put a hand behind his head and scratched his hair. "You're just, like, a super pretty girl."

"I-I... don't know what to say... um, thank you."

She looked at the floor nervously, wishing she knew how to continue this type of conversation, when the boy snapped his fingers with a loud clap.

"Ooh, shit!"

"Huh?"

Hagakure took his cell phone out of his pocket and his eyes grew wide. He downed his champagne and slammed the empty glass down on the table.

"I gotta go." He spun away on his heel, wobbling off through the crowd. "Shit, shit, shit."

Asahina sighed. Looking hopelessly at the desert table, she ate all of the pastries she had put back.

**_x_ **

Naegi floated on ice cubes in an alcohol ocean. Bits of the night drifted back to him.

Togami's speech had been brilliant. The heir had gotten up on a soapbox and clinked his glass with a spoon. The high school kids silenced and raised their eyes to him like wealthy adults at a charity dinner, lending him their full attention.

"Good evening, and thank you all for being here tonight. It is my great pleasure to host the first soiree of the school season."

Small hoots and cheers from the group.

"Hope's Peak Academy hosts only the elite. Some of us may not be as talented as others," he was referring to his own superiority, but not many of the party were above the influence and sharpened enough to pick up on it, "but we are all respected talents, nonetheless."

"It is no secret that with attendance to this school success is guaranteed. What is not guaranteed is the extent of our role in obtaining that success. Do we wait for the profit of our labors to follow our graduation? Or do we grab hold of our destiny and manifest it in the here and now, on our own terms? I believe there is no way to live other than the latter. It would be my great honor to represent the hope of our future as President of the Student Council."

Guests had taken out their cell phones and were filming. Camera flashes went off and snapshots could be heard throughout the crowd.

"Thus, I have invited all of you here to formally announce my candidacy for office. I look forward to working with you."

Another cheer washed through the party and Togami raised a glass.

"To Hope's Peak, and to my victory."

Togami smiled so smugly into his glass it was questionable whether or not he actually got any champagne past his lips.

"Wow, dude, I never knew Toges was full of so much hope." Hagakure was standing next to Naegi with a glass of champagne in one hand and the other in his pocket.

"He's full of shit," said Oowada, to which Kuwata replied with a snigger.

Naegi remembered the speech. He remembered Fujisaki Chihiro shaking his hand on multiple occasions with emotional smiles every time he passed Naegi by. It was like the boy was eternally grateful for Naegi's forgiveness of his role in almost accidentally ending Naegi's life.

He finished his first glass of champagne not long after Togami's speech, he recalled. The bubbles were nice. He got another. Maizono Sayaka had tapped him on the shoulder behind the mini bar.

"Hey, um. I think I knowww you!" She beamed through glistening lip-gloss. Her eye shadow sparkled. "I kept looking over at you--I hope you don't think that's weird--but it's just 'cus you looked so familiar, and now I figured it out! We went to middle school together!"

"Huh?" He thought about it for a second. A pretty girl he went to school with who was also incredibly charismatic and talented... it took a while to think with his brain on slow-mo, putting the pieces together. "Maizono Sayaka?"

"Yesssh!" Her words were drawn out with what could only be the effects of too many shots. She couldn't help that she didn't have much experience with alcohol and the vodka came in so many pretty colors. "You remember me!"

"Wow, well, good to see you." Naegi felt kind of dizzy. He wished she wouldn't jump around so much.

"I totally never thought I'd see you again! Wowww!"

She twirled around.

"Ooh, have lunch with me sometime, pleeesh?"

"Yeah. Yeah, we should." Why shouldn't he have lunch with Maizono? The more he drank, the more he realized he could socialize with anybody, even a national idol. "That'd be... sweet."'

He remembered Hagakure's advice: be cool. That definitely sounded like what someone cool would say.

Maizono smiled and hugged him.

"Sayaka! Come here, come here--look at the text we just got from Oowada--look what he said Kuwata said about you!"

A friend came to drag her away, and Naegi shrugged. He drank some more champagne. At first he found the liquor a little gross, but now it was tasty. He wanted to try more types of champagne. He wanted to try everything.

Dumbly wondering what to do next, Naegi sank into the couch Togami had summoned with his party-planning wizardry. Two girls were next to him, chatting incessantly and typing rapidly on their phones. He figured they were the girls from Celestia's clique, which could be ascertained by the large bows in their hair. Satin ribbons and poufs of lace and ruffles landed in his lap as they bounced next to him. His eyes scanned the room.

He was looking for _her_. If he was always looking for Kirigiri Kyouko subconsciously in the halls and in class, butterflies fluttering on the breath of puppy love, he was now shining spotlights from a watchtower in the night.

There she was, beautiful, and talking to Togami in what he imagined were hushed declarations of love. They were hidden in the corner, practically beneath the dark curtains that blanketed the walls, and his heart went under like the Titanic.

**_x_ **

"I thought you said you found it," said Togami under his breath. His fist clenched a glass of wine as he scowled at Kirigiri.

"I never said that," she whispered, looking over her shoulder. Ikusaba Mukuro was here and it was making her nervous. "Why did you invite her?"

"Who?" Togami was drunk and uncaring.

"Ikusaba Mukuro."

Togami didn't know what she was talking about. He peered around.

"Oh, her. Yes, I was curious about Fenrir, the military group she belongs to. Everyone present here tonight was invited for an explicitly specific reason."

"You sound like a mastermind in a mystery movie."

"Yes, ' _Clue_ ,' and you have none of them. I expected better."

"I do have clues," Kirigiri said in a pointed whisper. The music might be loud, but Togami needed to keep his voice down. She was struck with the thought that he wasn't very intelligent. She almost wanted to say that, but realized that might be the martini talking. It didn't stop her from taking another sip. "I'm just not at liberty to disclose them at the moment."

"I hired you! What do you mean you can't tell me?"

"Keep your voice down." Kirigiri chided. "Yes, you 'hired' me, but I'm also an independently acting detective. Your missing diary might be part of a bigger scheme that I'm looking into. I can't say anything about that right now."

"It's not a diary," said Togami behind pursed lips. "It's... a day planner of sorts. A record. And I need it back."

"You'll get it. You have my word as a Kirigiri. But things don't just appear when you want it."

Togami looked up from his drink and spotted Celes approaching, batting her eyelashes and regarding him with a coy smile before looking away.

"For me they do. If you'll excuse me."

He sidled away from Kirigiri, who crossed her arms and finished her martini.

The detective's cheeks tingled with a rising buzz, but her intuition tingled with worry. She was absolutely certain that Ikusaba Mukuro was watching her from the other side of the room, and she realized that this was as good a time as any to get more information on the matter.

**_x_ **

"Your speech was inspired. You have a talent for public speaking."

"Thank you for noticing."

Celestia laughed; an amused acknowledgement.

"You make no apologies for who you are, do you?"

"Why would I? There's nothing to apologize for." Togami studied her. "And neither do you, Queen of Lies. If that isn't a lofty title."

She covered her lips with the back of her hand.

"A lady can't help what titles her people bestow upon her."

"You don't deny their claims are false?"

"Of course not. Lying is my specialty." She took a sip of lush red wine. "Gambling, too, of course, but gambling only describes the physical scenario; not the clever manipulations required to gamble with success."

Arai and Yanagi were making their way up to Celes when she turned and waved them off, an evil look in her eye that scared them away.

"What are they doing here? I didn't invite them."

"They are here to serve me." Celestia flashed him a smile.

At that moment Naegi was making his way over to Togami to confront him about Kirigiri. After two glasses of champagne the so-called luckster was feeling heroic. He was going to find a way to escape expulsion, he was going to get the girl, and Togami wasn't going to stand in his way.

"Ah, and here comes your servant now." Celestia smiled as Naegi approached.

She turned to him with grace and elegance, not missing a beat. Naegi's gallant confrontation was cut short as Celestia shoved her wine glass into his hand.

"Another round, please."

"For me as well, Naegi." Togami only had eyes for Celes, absentmindedly lobbing his empty glass into Naegi's other hand.

"I--but--"

Celestia stared.

"Well? Do as you're told," Togami growled.

Confused, Naegi fell back.

"I apologize for my assistant's... ineptitude."

"No matter," said Celes. "It's so hard to find good help nowadays."

Togami smirked. He wanted to smile, but he only knew how to smirk.

"I'm glad you could make it tonight. I have a proposition for you."

"Oh?" she flirted.

"You are undeniably the reigning social queen of Hope's Peak. It would mean a great deal to my campaign if you were to, ah, pose... at my side."

Celestia's face fell and twisted into anger.

"Excuse me?"

"It's quite simple, really. We will pretend to be a couple in order to gain popular fascination. As striking figures on our own, the combined look would do well in the public's imagination. Give them something to aspire to."

"And why would I," Celestia struggled with all her might to keep down that angry Taeko's brutish wrath; she would show Togami the wrath of a lady, " **pretend** to date a **fool** like you?"

"What!?"

Togami was in absolute shock. How dare she insult him? After he had been complimenting her, nonetheless.

"Any man would be **honored** to have my hand. You are not good enough for me, Togami Byakuya."

"You--" Togami turned purple with anger. "--will regret those words, Miss Ludenberg."

Celestia laughed. Her laugh was one of a wicked witch straight out of a fantasy novel.

"I await your attempts," she said over her shoulder as she walked away.

**_x_ **

Hagakure was patting his pockets all night. He had a huge stash and he was paranoid it was all going to fall out and then Togami would whack him with a broomstick.

He was anxious. There was a bounty on his head, after all. The guys in suits had made that clear to him, as much as he was hoping the client that they answered to would forget. He decided to test the waters and see how much he could make dealing and promoting his fortune telling business amongst the Hope's Peak student body. It was better than the alternative plan he had come up with, which he hoped he wouldn't have to resort to...

**_x_ **

"Mukuro, follow that kid."

"Who, Junko?"

"The idiot with the breadsticks on his head."

"This is such a small party, Junko, I can't exactly follow him..."

"Dance your way over!"

"I don't... _no_ , Junko..."

**_x_ **

Hagakure sauntered up to Ikehara Jirou, some nuclear engineer for secret services or something. This kid looked like he would definitely want some drugs.

"Yo, bro. You looking to smoke up?"

"Y-yeah, that'd be cool." Ikehara was fidgeting with his champagne glass. "You, uh--got some on you?"

"Yeah, man. You okay?"

Ikehara flipped his hair back.

"Yeah, I'm good. Just, uh, stressed. Tensed up. Haven't slept. Trying to catch up on a project. Worked for like three days on this spy camera shit and then I lost it. Like, just gone. I don't know what the hell happened."

"What a bummer, man."

Hagakure did not care about the story in the least bit. He was too busy looking over his shoulder, hoping Togami wouldn't notice he was dealing weed at his shindig. The heir was talking to some life-sized China doll, and Hagakure figured that should keep him occupied long enough to do some business.

"You got the cash on you?"

"Uh, y-yeah, how much, man?"

"Fifteen thousand yen."

"Fifteen thousand yen!? For what?"

"For the drugs, man, duh."

"Shit, that's expensive!"

"It's good quality!"

Hagakure jumped when someone clapped him on the back. He spun around to see Oowada Mondo and Kuwata Leon.

"Hey, dude!" Kuwata grinned.

"Hagakure Yasuhiro, how the fuck are you, buddy?"

"I'm good--good." Hagakure hastily stuffed Ikehara's money in his pocket.

"What are you doing over here with this fuckin' hipster?" Oowada sized up Ikehara as he would for a fight while Kuwata took huge swigs of his champagne.

"Hipster?" Ikehara's voice cracked. "I am so. Totally. Not. A hipster."

"Yeah, whatever the fuck you say, pal."

Nervous that Oowada was going to kick his ass (which he probably was), Ikehara scurried away.

Oowada turned to Hagakure.

"So, are we gonna blaze or what, you hippie son of a bitch?"

"Hell yeah, but not in here."

"Why the fuck not?"

"We'll definitely get caught! We gotta go outside." Hagakure thought about it for a moment. "But if Togami figures out I left, he'd get pretty mad..."

"Who gives a shit about that prick?"

"Yeah, come on, man!"

Hagakure took a deep breath.

"No, I can't. I'll meet you guys later. Pay me now?"

He held out a bag.

"You know, you're kind of a money-grubbing bastard."

Hagakure smiled and laughed.

"Like I always say, my prices aren't cheap!"

**_x_ **

Ikusaba Mukuro inched her way over to Hagakure, which meant Kirigiri Kyouko inched her way behind Ikusaba Mukuro.

"Hey."

Kirigiri grabbed Ikusaba's hand.

"Oh, shit," said Enoshima in Ikusaba's ear as the soldier turned and Kirigiri's face came into view.

"What are you up to?"

The detective skipped straight to the interrogation without preamble. There was no point in making small talk with a suspect.

"E-excuse me?"

"Tell her to fuck off," Enoshima hissed. "Pull her hair. Ask her why she wears those ugly gloves and those stupid headbands. Tell her she's an annoying little brat. Step on her toes."

"J-Junko, I--can't--"

Kirigiri stared at Ikusaba, raising her eyebrows.

"--I--can't find the bathroom," Ikusaba tried to cover for herself.

"Are you sure that's what you're looking for?"

"Just hit her or something," Enoshima rambled on, buzzing in Ikusaba's ear. "She's so STUPID. UGH. I CAN'T STAND HER. Make her go away, Mukuro. Goawaygoawaygoaway. Goawayuglybitch. She's ruining our plans, Muku."

"--Jun--"

"Whom are you talking to?"

"What a little rat!--Mukuro, dump your--"

"I don't know!"

Ikusaba jumped up in confusion, splashing her entire glass of blood red wine in Kirigiri's face.

"--drink on her," Enoshima's command ended in an eruption of cackles.

Kirigiri Kyouko was stunned. Her violet eyes pierced Ikusaba with pure ice; even Enoshima, watching through the spy camera, flinched.

"I'm watching you," she said, tasting the wine on her lips.

**_x_ **

Naegi's head felt heavy and sore, his cheeks warm.

He remembered getting ready for the party, putting on his new suit and frowning sheepishly as a disgruntled Togami retied his messy bow tie. He remembered setting the table with our'desorves brought in by what looked amazingly like room service. He remembered running errands for Togami in between greeting people; passing conversations with Asahina and Fujisaki; nodding his head vaguely to a catchy song and debating dancing but thankfully not acting on it; waiting in line for the bathroom.

He remembered seeing Kirigiri and Togami having a secret meeting. That made him angry, even now. He had tried to confront Togami about it but had been waved off; he rebelled in refusing to bring his 'friend' a refill of his drink.

Naegi couldn't remember how many drinks he himself had. And, as was common with people who are drunk, he didn't know how drunk he was.

He decided to find Hagakure and ask his advice, but walked right into Kirigiri Kyouko, whose front was covered in wine.

"Hey, Khiri-ghiri, are you okay?" Naegi slurred.

She flashed him a pained expression.

"I'm fine. Excuse me."

"Yeah, I know," he gave an over exaggerated, drunken sigh. "You don' want to t-halk to me--you're lookin-gh for Togami."

That stopped her.

"What?"

"S'okay, s'not my business if you and Togami are going out."

Kirigiri was surprised.

"What are you talking about?"

 It was obvious Naegi was very drunk, but the comment took her off guard. In fact, Naegi Makoto continually took her off guard. He was unexpectedly troublesome.

"I saw you guys, in the corner... s'okay, you don't have to hide it--"

"There's nothing going on between Togami and I."

"O-oh, there's nhot? I-I'm s'orry…"

"And I'd appreciate it if you didn't spread rumors."

Kirigiri felt heat rise to her cheeks. A droplet of wine trickled down the side of her nose.

"No! I w-wasn't--!"

He didn't know how to break the pattern of misunderstandings with her.

"Hey, I'm nhot that kind'a' guy," he pleaded. "Hey! Khirigiri, please wait a second!"

She looked over her shoulder, a frown that was almost more like a pout on her face. It wasn't as easy for her to keep her mask up when drinking, and her inner self was rather like a spoilt child. She was aware her mental faculties and ability to conceal her emotions were impaired.

"Look, I'm really s'h'orry, alright? I know you'll prob'ly never talk to me again but... please don't think I'm some kind ohf jerk. I just get nervous around you..."

"Why?" she asked, frustrated. She needed to get to the bathroom and clean herself up and she **really** needed to leave.

"W-well," he stuttered, weighing his options on how he could proceed.

Liquor muddled his ability to think straight. He felt like the room was spinning even though he was standing still, and all he saw was Kirigiri. He threw away all inhibitions and opened his mouth to confess when Maizono Sayaka's lips met his.

The blue-haired girl had run up from nowhere and thrown herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and locking her lips with his.

Naegi stumbled back as Maizono tackled him, eyes wide with shock. This was his first kiss.

"Ooh!" one of Maizono's friends shouted, "Sayaka and Naegi are making out!"

"Sayaka and Naegi are making out!" another of the idol's best friends piped in, scanning the crowd for a specific person that needed to be watching.

Asahina gasped. Fujisaki covered his face in embarrassment. Arai and Yanagi snapped photographic evidence on their bejeweled cell phones. Togami and Celes, on opposite sides of the room and typing furiously on their own phones, did not bother to look at all. Ikusaba cocked her head to the side indifferently, while Enoshima trilled in her ear, "Gettin' a little hot 'n steamy, huh!?" Hagakure nodded in approval. Oowada and Kuwata, who were just about to leave, stopped dead in their tracks.

"Ain't that your girl?"

"That--freakin'--loser!" Kuwata clenched both of his fists and growled. "NOT COOL! NO WAY! I'm gonna knock that punk ass bitch OUT!"

Hagakure kept nodding in amusement until he realized that the punk ass bitch in question was his friend.

"Hey! Kuwata, no, come on!" He reached out and grabbed the baseball player by the collar.

"Let me at 'im!" Kuwata struggled like a cartoon character flailing in place. He was honestly too drunk to do any damage, but Hagakure held him back nonetheless.

When the kiss was over, Maizono pulled away from Naegi but held his hands, looking around at the crowd with a wide smile.

Naegi was paralyzed and stunned, trying to discern where he was and what was happening. He was pretty sure he had just kissed Maizono Sayaka, which was virtually unbelievable. The room was spinning faster, and as he looked around his heart dropped like a bottle he heard breaking from the other side of the dorm.

Kirigiri Kyouko was gone.

**_x_ **

"It's getting late, Junko... I think we did a good job here..."

Enoshima scoffed.

"Big baby. It's only one o'clock. One o'clock isn't as despairing an hour as, say, three. When it hits three a.m. you know you're fucked."

Ikusaba was tired and exasperated, but it wasn't a question whether or not she would do anything for her little sister.

"What now?"

Enoshima's eyes flittered about the scene from the camera.

"I want you to make a friend..."

**_x_ **

Ikusaba did as she was told, noticing Asahina Aoi recoil as the soldier drew near.

"Hey, um... I'm really sorry about what I said earlier... I just know sweets are bad for you..." Ikusaba struggled, "...Um, that boy seemed nice, though. I think you should ask him to hang out."

Asahina blushed. Other than Hagakure's compliment, this night had been a total failure. She didn't get why this girl was suddenly apologizing to her, but the suggestion wasn't something she opposed.

She bit her lip.

"Y-you think?"

"Yeah. Definitely."

"Upupupu," Enoshima tittered in Ikusaba's ear.

Over the wave of the mingling crowd, Asahina spotted the tall boy's dreaded hair. She decided to go for it.

The exchange of bags between Hagakure's hands and those of some obviously drunk girl's occurred as Asahina approached. She watched the merchandise move; there were chunky green bits tied up in plastic and soft white powder in tiny packets, like sugar for coffee.

"What was that?" Asahina's face had fallen.

"Uh--oh--that was um, nothing."

"Nothing? Yeah, right."

"Hey!" He said defensively. "It's not a big deal... just, er, having some fun..."

"You're dealing drugs," Asahina said.

Her moral code was strong as Oogami had taught her. She was a 'good girl.' And good girls didn't get involved with boys who sold drugs.

"You know, I thought you were pretty cool," she began, "but you're just a total loser."

She decided to leave.

Hagakure groaned. Before he had even realized he had made an impression on a pretty girl, he did something to make her hate him. And he was beginning to hate himself. He had never dealt anything but weed that he grew himself before, and that was cool. But this was different. The men in suits had given him all kinds of things to 'help work off his debt,' but he hadn't decided to actually sell any of it until he was threatened yesterday. He felt sick over the money he owed; sick over taking advantage of his friends.

And to think what else he had planned... no, he could not go through with that...

The usually carefree, happy-go-lucky Hagakure Yasuhiro felt like something he never felt like before.

He felt like a bad person.

**_x_ **

"Christ, this party was boring as fuck. What losers. They honestly might even be too fucking dumb to fall into true despair."

Enoshima slurped her ramen noodles. There was an array of empty snack bags and trash on the desk by the laptop.

"Does that mean I can leave now?" asked Ikusaba.

"There's one more thing, sis."

**_x_ **

After changing into pajamas and wiping off her makeup as Enoshima had instructed, Ikusaba swiftly navigated to Ishimaru Kiyotaka's quarters and reported the party to the freshman RA.

Ishimaru's blood chilled at the sight of the illegal rowdiness that was taking place in a fellow classmates' dorm room. He immediately cleared the area, taking note of each and every student present.

"I am--" the Super High School Level Hall Monitor was on the verge of tears, "-- **so** disappointed in you, classmates."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well. i built all the ships and then sank them. hope you enjoyed the first despairful event of the season. xo C


	7. Dissed by a Rose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Ab)normal days of visits to the headmaster's office, lunch dates, and drug lords.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, Kirigiri Kyouko will be referred to as Kyouko and Kirigiri Jin will be referred to as Kirigiri.

**_Day Time. The Week Following the Party._ **

Togami Byakuya sat across from Kirigiri Jin, the headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy. The headmaster's desk was covered in files and books, a sleek black computer and printer tucked to the side. A nameplate stationed toward the front of the desk struck Togami with a curious feeling, as if he were at the mercy of an amateur magician attempting to saw him in half but could scarcely procure an uncooperative rabbit from a hat. The experience was both frightening and amusing.

"So, Mr. Togami, it is said in this report that you were throwing a party in your dorm room."

Togami Byakuya shifted in his seat with a disinterested sigh.

"It seems you are gravely misinformed. It was not a party. It was a business soiree. Furthermore, I do not throw parties. I do not 'throw' anything. Such childish antics would be unseemly. I was hosting."

"Well, then, Mr. Togami, I must remind you that it is against Hope's Peak Academy's school regulations to host business soiree's in your private rooms."

"I do not remember reading that in the handbook."

"It is implied under the clause regarding after-hours socializing as well as the strictly prohibited use of alcohol on campus. Underage drinking, needless to say, is not only a violation of our code of honor, but against national law."

"If I recall, sir, in your opening address at the beginning of the semester, you encouraged our class to 'defy the laws, to push forward with the hope of progress and global change, for the betterment of human history.' I admit I was inspired."

"Flattery will be of no use to you in this situation, Mr. Togami."

"Ah, if I gave you the impression that my comment was meant to flatter you, I do apologize." Togami didn't bother to censor his condescending laugh. "The Togami family never resorts to flattery. What I am trying to say, sir, is that my actions were merely a result of my understanding of Hope's Peak's expectations."

"The staff expects that as responsible students you will follow the rules."

Togami sighed.

"To be honest, sir, I am disheartened." He let his face drop as he pushed back his glasses, shaking his head in dismay. "It was always my opinion that the academy did everything it could to avoid stifling its superb students' unique and visionary ideas."

"Yes, that is true, but ordering two cases of champagne to a dorm room--"

There was a sharp knock at the door.

"Ah, come in."

An elderly man in plain business dress opened the door a crack and coughed.

"Mr. Kirigiri, you have a phone call… it's, ah, that person…"

The headmaster bit his lip.

"I see."

Kirigiri let out a deep, frustrated sigh and closed his eyes, putting his head in his hand.

"It is entirely inappropriate for me to let you go without punishment, but there are far more important matters at hand than adolescent antics," he said with a tint of self-doubt in his voice.

Togami Byakuya had the faintest notion that Headmaster Kirigiri had absolutely no idea both how to be a headmaster and how he had ascended to such a position in the first place. Togami couldn't make up his mind whether the man was a village idiot or a genius.

"Mr. Togami, please just go, and kindly limit your business transactions to day time in an appropriate setting."

Togami's face lit up with a satisfied smirk.

"Of course, sir. Good day."

The heir rose and strutted out of the office. He was quite pleased with himself.

"Well, Mr. Kirigiri? Shall I transfer the call to your line?"

There was never anything that could prepare Kirigiri Jin for these moments. It took all of his inner strength to build up the resolve.

"Yes. I will take it now."

 

♥♡♥

 

Kirigiri Kyouko slunk against the wall of a hallway that bordered her father's office. This pass was small and dark, and lead only to a few junky copy machines and archaic filing cabinets, making it easy for her to duck in the shadows without being discovered.

Togami Byakuya exited Kirigiri Jin's office, a conceited sway in his step.

_He truly is ignorant..._

Helping the young heir locate his personal dossier was not something Kyouko had imagined herself doing within the first two weeks of her attendance at Hope's Peak. A case was a case, however, and considering her other investigations, she deemed all matters concerning the members of her class very important.

Kyouko had already decided that the focus of the drama was indeed her class, the Seventy-eighth batch. This was the only reason Naegi Makoto could have been called into her father's office for a private meeting; the only reason Kuwata Leon and Fukawa Touko had been in and out of said office multiple times in the first week of the semester; the only reason Ishimaru Kiyotaka reported student misdemeanors directly to Kirigiri Jin himself while the other Resident Assistants reported solely to the Disciplinary Department Head. There was certainly indication that odd things had been happening at Hope's Peak before Kyouko's arrival, but she knew it in her gut that this particular situation revolved around her classmates alone, and, consequently, herself; which, if the rest of the situation made her angry, this factor made her livid.

Her rotten father had made her a part of his plans and this was unforgivable.

She detested him. He had called her phone again earlier. She had hung up immediately with more pressure exerted on the red button than necessary.

_I swear, I will--_

Kirigiri Jin appeared in her view just then, and Kyouko immediately pressed deeper into the shadows. He held in his hand a small, leather-bound book.

Kyouko's eyes widened.

_Could it be...?_

Kirigiri paused for a second, making a face like he had forgotten something. That must be it, Kyouko thought--he had forgotten something in his idiocy; there was no way he sensed her presence. His observation skills were not developed enough for such an accomplishment as locating her hiding place.

Thumping the book in his hand, Kirigiri struggled with an inner decision. He resolved to walk forward.

Kyouko resolved that she would discover whatever the headmaster was plotting, and expose it.

 

♥♡♥

 

Asahina Aoi daydreamed about the ocean. Her parents had once taken her on a vacation to swim with dolphins by the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. She remembered how adorable the marine animals were; how their eyes were communicative. She talked to them. They laughed. She watched them jump and play with each other, aquatic creatures forming pure, innocent bonds of friendship right before her eyes.

The memories of the dolphins stuck with her. Even if just for a moment, she thought about them each day.

Asahina tried to see the best in people, even when it was difficult for her to see the best in herself. She thought if she could surround herself with the light of others, the spark would catch and she would shine too.

She would shine like Sakura. Oogami Sakura, her best friend in the entire world. Though they had only met recently, Asahina knew it was to be a friendship for life. With Oogami, she felt like she could be herself; like she was understood, and accepted. The warrior's strong presence grounded her, while she otherwise swam with the current.

Asahina floated in the pool on her back, her eyes closed. She liked the way the water felt at the nape of her neck, like she was a baby, head supported by her mother.

Buoyant in the water, she was rather like a bird flying in the sky, as if the world had rolled on its head and everything turned upside down. Fish in the sky; birds in the sea. An ocean planet breathing underwater...

"Asahina!"

"Eeep!"

Her reverie broken, the brunette flailed and dipped under the water. She surfaced with a splash and took a deep breath.

"You are supposed to be practicing your backstroke, young lady, not taking a nap."

"I--I'm sorry, Mrs. Yuzuru…"

The coach did not accept Asahina's apology. Yuzuru Ami was a strict woman who believed in rigorous training and left no room for excuses.

"Why don't you do a few laps then? Lead the others. Ladies, follow Asahina," Yuzuru commanded.

Asahina flinched.

Summoning her determination, the Super High School Level Swimmer dove for the edge of the pool, and proceeded to swim her hardest around its perimeter. Though her teammates grit their teeth and made after her, she bounded yards ahead.

After practice, Coach Yuzuru called Asahina aside.

"I was worried yesterday when you showed up a couple minutes late for practice, but I thought you'd snap out of it and focus. Where's your energy?"

_That's not the problem..._

Asahina had plenty of energy. She was just a little overwhelmed by class. Biology was super confusing. It was clear now that she never fully anticipated what attending such a prestigious school would mean for her academics. Swimming was all she had ever focused on.

And, if she were honest, the Olympics were coming up and though she knew in her heart she would give it her best shot, the idea of taking her swimming career to the next level was pretty intimidating. There were people much older than her who had been training their whole lives for this; who had already won medals. She was only now just old enough to compete. How could she stand a chance, even at a Super High School Level?

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Yuzuru. I already have a lot of homework is all!"

Yuzuru looked her over, annoyance apparent in her eyes.

"You are my star, Asahina. Nothing is as important as swimming. You must not forget that. I expect you to be in full form tomorrow."

The coach gathered her gym bag and left, leaving the girl to stare at the puddle of chlorinated water accumulating at her feet.

**_x_ **

Disheartened, Asahina decided to find Oogami Sakura, her rock in the tumultuous waves.

_Super High School life sure is hard..._

The brunette daydreamed as she walked, looking up with surprise as she reached her dorm room and found that Oogami was already there.

"Sakura!" Asahina shouted, elated, and threw herself into the martial artists' arms.

Despite the hardness of Oogami's muscles, her hugs were extremely loving and warm.

"Hello, Asahina," said Oogami in her proper, even tone. "I was looking for you."

"And I was looking for you!"

Asahina grinned.

"I'm gonna change out of my swimwear and throw on some training clothes. Wanna go kick some butt at the gym?"

"Of course," Oogami folded her arms over her chest. "And perhaps we can go to the cafe after."

Asahina squealed.

"Yes! Donuts!"

She unlocked the door to her dorm, letting Oogami in, laughing at nothing in particular.

Asahina felt a huge weight slide off her shoulders.

_Friends sure make everything better. And donuts._

♥♡♥

 

            "Dead man walking, huh?"

            Hagakure and Naegi were headed down the hallway to their lockers as Togami approached.

            "Not quite yet." Togami was overflowing with self-satisfaction. "It would take a lot more than that to kill me."

            "So you're not in trouble?" Naegi asked, wide-eyed.

            "Tsk, tsk, Naegi--you should know better."

            Togami pushed his glasses up. He inwardly scolded himself for it. Awkward quirks in his behavior were reason for detest and must be eliminated to ensure his ultimate perfection.

            "Naegi, a word."

            Togami gestured over to the long window lining the hallway, students and books and backpacks trailing in front of it like a moving skyline.

            Naegi and Hagakure looked at each other and started forward, but Togami held up a hand.

            "Not you, Hagakure. This information is for Naegi's ears only."

            Hagakure grumbled.

            "Always leaving me out of things, man. I see how it is."

            "Good. Then I don't have to explain it to you. Over here, Naegi," Togami beckoned him, and the small boy stumbled between the same flow of students Togami had easily maneuvered between.

            "Naegi. Later this afternoon, around approximately five o'clock, you will wait outside the dormitories for a deliveryman. This man will give you an armful of lavender roses. You will intercept these and bring them to Dorm 4E in our building, and deliver them to--and only to--Celestia Ludenberg; do not let her wretched handmaidens receive them. You will say this, and only this, to the intended: 'Miss Celestia, Togami Byakuya sends you these flowers as a gift of admiration, and requests that you will please meet him for dinner at nine p.m. this Friday evening, outside of the front gates of the school.' You will then report directly back to me with her answer. Is this understood?"

            Naegi had in fact zoned out on Togami's face, that of which conveyed an inner struggle with the slightest twitch of the lips and the faintest pale pink rising to the tips of his cheekbones.

            "Um, sure."

            "Repeat it to me, monkey."

            Naegi winced at the insult, but shook it off in favor of pacifying Togami.

            "Miss Celestia, Togami Byakuya sends you these flowers as a--a, um, gift of admiration, and requests that you will please meet him for dinner at... er, nine p.m. this... Friday evening, outside of the front gates of the school."

            "Well done. I'll give you a little treat later."

            Naegi's gut stung with the verbal punch, but ever the pacifist, he controlled a grimace.

            "We're going to get food," Naegi said, glancing back at Hagakure. "Coming with us?"

            Togami looked at his watch.

            "No, I think I'll be skipping lunch today. I have other things to attend to. Ciao."

            "Since when did he stop eating?" Naegi asked the tall boy who had ambled over, watching Togami disappear into the queue of students.

            "That's nothing new," said Hagakure, shaking his head. "What I really wanna know is when he started saying 'ciao.'"

 

♥♡♥

 

            Shortly after, lunch with Hagakure miraculously became lunch with Maizono and friends.

            Naegi and Hagakure were on their way to their usual lunch spot when the short, average boy and the glowing national idol caught each other's eye.

            Naegi averted his gaze, yet it did nothing to stop Maizono from running up to him, clasping his hands and bidding him look at her.

            Hagakure whistled.

            "Woof! Guess I'll go smoke up--ah, eat up and leave you two lovebirds alone."

            He gave Naegi a look of approval before sauntering off with his lunch (and his pot) to a cozy cluster of trees across the courtyard.

            Naegi gulped, turning to what seemed to be an equally nervous Maizono.

            "N-Naegi..." Maizono stuttered, "...I'm really, really sorry about what happened at Togami's party."

            "That's, uh, eh--"

            Naegi Makoto was painfully aware of how completely useless he was in these situations. His heart and stomach floundered with nervousness, and he knew instinctively at that moment that he needed to build his confidence.

            He kept a mental list of the things he would need to accomplish his primary goal this semester: getting Kirigiri Kyouko to date him--uh, er, developing his talent as Super High School Level Luck and cementing his status at the school. Confidence. Luck itself, yes, especially for the former endeavor. Ceasing the use of 'uh' and 'er' and speaking with conviction--the level of conviction he would need at a trial for life and death, which left no room for hesitancy--was also a necessity for his success.

            "I never should have done it," Maizono was saying to him while he surfaced from his inner dialogue.

            "Huh?"

            _Not that I intended to kiss her either but... that much regret, really?_

            "It was awful."

            _This is too much!_

            "I used you... and it wasn't the right thing to do," she looked down at her hands, which clenched fistfuls of her skirt. It was clear from her face that she was genuinely apologetic.

            "Used me?"

            "I... I wanted to make Kuwata jealous... that was why I kissed you. I was also... really drunk--it was so embarrassing--and then he acted like a total jerk after, and I just--"

            "Hey, no worries," said Naegi, giving her his signature smile. "I was pretty drunk, too. I'm not mad."

            He blushed. Truth be told, he didn't really have the capacity to be mad at anyone ( _well, unless I'm drinking_ , he thought, recounting his unnecessary rage at Togami), but he definitely couldn't be mad about kissing a gorgeous girl like Maizono.

            "Of course," she giggled. "I'm sure you didn't mind, but that was my worry, you know--that you might think I meant it and feel bad--"

            "Huh!? Did I say that out loud!?"

            "No," Maizono grinned, "I just knew what you were thinking."

            _She is pretty, and sweet, but... she's not_ her _..._

            "And, I know you already have a crush on someone else!"

            "What!? How do you keep reading my mind!?"

            "Oh, I have ESP," Maizono said with a smile.

            "R-really?"

            "No, no," she laughed. "I just have really good intuition!"

            "Good intuition, huh..."

            "No," the blue-haired girl shook her head. "Not even. It's just really obvious the way you stare at Kirigiri all throughout class!"

            "It is!? Wait, no, I mean--"

            "Don't worry, Naegi."

            Maizono reached out and took his hands.

            "To make it up to you, I promise I'll do whatever I can to help you with your crush on Kirigiri. I'll be your personal matchmaker!"

            "M-matchmaker?"

            Naegi became aware of Maizono's friends watching him from several yards away and felt despairingly exposed.

            _Does that mean Kirigiri knows too?--I did confront her about being with Togami, after all, so she must... ugh, she definitely knows..._

            "Yes," a look of determination seized Maizono's face as she spoke. "I'll do whatever I can to help you get with Kirigiri, to atone for my crimes and unfair treatment of you. Just because I have a messed up love life doesn't mean my friends have to, too!"

            Naegi couldn't help but be impressed with her enthusiasm.

            _Messed up love life? I thought Kuwata was crazy about her..._

            "We can be friends, right?" Maizono asked, hesitant.

            "Of course we can."

            "I'm so happy!"

            Naegi chuckled, and over his shoulder he could see Maizono's friends eyeing him suspiciously.

            He adjusted his view, and from across the park, Kuwata Leon eyed him suspiciously, and, Naegi was unhappy to note, maliciously.

            Circumscribing the courtyard, Naegi spotted Ikusaba Mukuro, who added exceeding levels of suspicion to the already highly suspicious situation, and, beyond the depths of all fathomable suspect, was the presence of the Super High School Level Fashion Girl by the side of the soldier, the two tugging at each other's socks.

            Something about Ikusaba Mukuro and Enoshima Junko together struck Naegi as strange, but his current situation was odd enough anyway that he let his fleeting cofusion pass.

            Outside of the circle, Hagakure lounged against a tree, contemplating the foliage; a lone stoner traversing the universe, oblivious of the teenage chaos.

            Were all high schools so dramatic?

            "Ooh, let me introduce you to my friends!" Maizono squealed, gesturing over to the ladies who had been gawking at him from the picnic table.

            Naegi met each girl individually, not retaining much about each of them at all as Maizono peppered her introductions with garbled anecdotes full of too many inside jokes for an outsider to make sense of.

            "Eat your lunch, Sayaka! You'll run out of time," said a prim, tailored brunette; she was an older student Naegi had never seen before.

            "I'm trying, Saki! I'm just so excited Makoto is here!"

            Naegi quickly learned that this upperclassman was Okano Saki, the Super High School Level Judiciary Girl. Naegi found this title unsurprising, as her appearance was quite put-together and impressive.

            "Pleasure to meet you, Naegi Makoto," said Okano with a white smile so perfect he couldn't be sure whether or not it was faked. "Any friend of Sayaka's is a friend of mine."

            Relaxing, Naegi shook the hand Okano held out in an appropriately business-like manner before excusing himself to rejoin Hagakure. There were too many eyes on him for his liking, and in the back of his mind was the niggling question of whether or not he should try out Hagakure's methods of relaxation.

 

♥♡♥

 

            If there was one thing Hagakure Yasuhiro knew how to do (perhaps even better than his exalted talent) it was to relax.

            Hours later, the clairvoyant lay sprawled on his bed, reclining in the peace of candlelight and burning sage. He pictured himself as a great jungle cat draped on the branch of a gigantic Kapok tree. His pocket was heavy with money with the fruits of the many drug sales and impromptu palm readings of the past week; his mind was heavy with grass; his stomach was heavy with food.

            If only it weren't for the death threats, everything would be just dandy. Smooth sailing ahead, Captain; fair weather and a temperature of seventy-five degrees; clear skies and blue seas.

            It was only a minor complication, he told himself. Nothing to worry about. If he just remained cool and collected, and rode out the wave, the onslaught of aggressive phone calls, text messages, letters, and drive-bys would stop. It would all disappear into the abyss, like the sun on the horizon, dunking itself in the ocean like the baptism of a chocolate chip cookie in a righteous glass of milk.

Hagakure was positively petrified of the guys in suits. They knew where he lived. Hell, they knew where he went to school. They knew his name and his friends. They knew he owed them a lot of money, even though he was hoping they'd forget.

These guys already had a ton of it, after all. Or, their friend did--the one the clairvoyant had scammed. Hagakure didn't do it intentionally; he was just a little... overexcited by his visions.

He had been intensely prophetic that night, having predicted he would smoke on two different occasions and then he **did**. He had wished for a great party and it had come to him. He was in the swankiest club in town with the swankiest crowd. People kept buying him drinks and smoking him up and girls kept hitting on him. The bar was out of control **rad**. There was a popular DJ spinning and a huge disco ball hanging from the ceiling and all around the lounge were ice sculptures giving off smoke. The white clouds mingled with that wafting from the hookahs, and Hagakure thought those were even cooler. It was so groovy.

It was even groovier when a wealthy dude with circular sunglasses invited him into a private room and shared some of his hash. It had come out that Hagakure was a fortuneteller, probably because Hagakure himself was telling everyone in sight. The partiers found him amusing and kept handing him bills of yen as a joke. This joke had already made him fifty thousand yen for the night, which made it one of his best jokes yet.

It was all well and good. The wealthy man gave him a rare brand of cigar and they shared some laughs. Then the man asked him which horse he should bet on in this big race that was going on in America, something involving droopy candy. Candy Droopy. Lucky Ducky. Or something. The man showed him a spreadsheet with odds on the contestants. Hagakure studied the list. The man asked him which name 'spoke to him.' Hagakure picked the one with the only American words he could recognize, Pepsi Cola. The man paid him a hundred million yen with a smile on his face, insisting he would win five hundred million more.

Needless to say, Pepsi Cola did not end up winning the Yucking Dookie. Hagakure never once drank a can of Pepsi since.

            But as long as he kept selling the drugs, it would be okay. They couldn't get mad at him if he sold the drugs, right? The suits would just have to accept that it would take time for him to generate the funds. He needed to expand his clairvoyant business, and fast. Raise prices like the government raised taxes in a time of war.

That had gone badly before--extorting his prices and grasping wildly at wealthy clients. He had definitely been in a lot of trouble then. But that was then and this is now, he thought. There was a whole galaxy of space and time between the ozone layers of... space and time.

Hagakure took another hit of his bong.

He would be smarter this time, he decided as the smoke rose. He would cover all his bases. He would keep himself safe. If he had to run, he would run faster. If he had to hide, he would hide better. If he had to climb, he would climb higher.

" _Money can buy you anything."_

That was what Togami had said. Togami could buy anything.

The walls started to melt and Hagakure felt so good. If he kept his cool, everything would fade away, receding like the purple clouds.

 

♥♡♥

 

As Hagakure's sobriety faded, so did Naegi Makoto's vision as he stumbled into the dormitory building with an armful of dazzlingly outrageous flowers. The bouquet of two-dozen lavender roses sprinkled with fine glitter and tied with a black satin ribbon shifted in his arms, threatening to topple him over. He stepped on his own feet, careening against the wall.

_Let's see... Togami said... Dorm 4C..._

Naegi wobbled so much his shoulder hit the doorframe as he pulled to a stop.

He sighed. So far being Togami's assistant had not contributed to his luck in the slightest. He supposed attending his party and meeting and greeting the guests had improved his social status, but in terms of what he deemed quantifiable evidence of his talent, he had made no progress. The stipulations of what he was supposed to accomplish were already a mystery to him, and, ringing the doorbell and preparing himself for the deliverance of Togami's message, he settled into a despairing feeling of frustration.

The door opened, and a silver-haired girl draped in a loose cardigan regarded him quizzically.

"Naegi?"

"K-Kirigiri!? What are you doing here!?"

_Dorm 4... C... E? Oh--_

"This is my room. What are you--are these..."

Her face grew expressive in her surprise, porcelain stone come to life.

_Oh my God, she's going to think they're for her. Oh my God, she knows I like her. Oh my--_

"They're, um..." A deep blush had set into Naegi's cheeks. "I--uh--you--"

Kirigiri's complexion matched his.

"...I... don't know what the purpose of such an action is, but... t-thank-you..."

"I, uh..." Naegi's throat grew dry. He was simultaneously elated and devastated. "I got them for you to, er... apologize, for all the awkwardness and... I figured you'd like purple, since you're purple--I mean, uh, your hair looks purple-ish, and you're pretty..."

On the contrary, Kyouko had turned completely red. A delicate gloved hand covered her mouth while the other clasped the massive, fluffy bouquet to her chest.

"...I think I get it," said Kyouko, nodding along with Naegi's stumbling words.

"Does that mean you, uh, er--"

_Does she accept them?_

His sweaty palms were shoved into the pockets of his hoodie.

_How did this... it doesn't matter that I didn't mean for this to happen... it's done... I've made a fool of myself... I'm gonna be murdered by--_

"--Togami!--"

"--Naegi--" she started, then cocked her head to the side, confused. "Togami?"

He shook his head wildly.

"No! Uh, sorry, Togami's waiting for me, I just remembered... he's a little grumpy so I don't want to keep him waiting--"

"You're a strange boy," said Kyouko in her blunt, matter of fact tone. "And I don't really know what this is about..."

She studied the flowers, which were so voluminous the petals brushed her cheeks and nose as she held them to her, glitter dusting her clothes.

"...but it's... sweet of you," she concluded.

Naegi's head perked up.

"It is?"

"Yes. I don't think I've ever been given flowers before."

"I'm glad to give them to you, then," were the first authentic words to come out of his mouth. Adrenaline shot through his veins, caught up in the whirlwind of his quest to deliver flowers to Celestia and the complete fortuitous failure of handing them to Kyouko instead.

She watched him curiously. There was no way to tell what she was thinking behind those neatly kept eyes of hers. He had no idea what he would be thinking if he were in her position, which made gauging the situation doubly difficult.

"I'm... glad too. That party was quite suspicious."

"Ah," he sighed, easing into a natural correspondence. Kyouko herself was a strange girl, in that it was easier for her to talk about investigations than it was gifts of admiration. "The party was pretty weird, wasn't it? I don't know if Togami managed to get what he was after, since he seemed pretty agitated when it was all over..."

"Did you notice anything strange?" Kyouko asked, a true and true detective even standing in her dorm doorway with a ridiculous bouquet of roses in her arms and an absolutely odd boy on the other side of them.

"Well, I had..." he blushed deeply, "...a lot to drink."

"True," she answered, pondering her own inebriated state during the event.

"...But that girl you were worried about, Ikusaba? She really didn't talk to anyone, from what I can remember..."

"You're right," said Kyouko.

Ikusaba Mukuro. The mysterious Super High School Level Soldier was a key player in the 'Book Case,' as Kyouko had taken to calling her investigation. Aside from the obvious connection that the Soldier was part of the Seventy-eighth class, she was also at Togami's party but didn't talk to anyone, meaning there was an ulterior motive for her attendance.

Furthermore, Ikusaba had become Kyouko's personal stalker. There was the distinct possibility, however, that Ikusaba wasn't working alone. Kyouko was almost (almost, for she always left room for doubt before the one absolute truth was found) certain that Ikusaba had been talking to someone via high-tech spy equipment at the party. This conclusion was supported by the fact that such equipment was missing from the Super High School Level Spec Ops Developer, as the boy had drunkenly lamented to everyone he spoke to.

Kyouko's mind prowled about her observations, inferences, and discoveries, conjured in a panoramic view, replaying scenes with uncanny accuracy... earlier, her father with the mysterious black leather-bound book... her father... Ikusaba... her class, starting with Togami and his personal record, with Naegi and his threats of expulsion, Ishimaru's direct report, the other students in the office... all of these things were linked--

"I'm going to put these in water," Kyouko said finally. She shifted on her feet to go back into her room. "Would you maybe want--"

"--To hang out sometime?" Naegi asked, hopeful.

"Yes."

"Definitely. I mean, absolutely. I mean--" ... _be cool, be cool_ , he thought, "...sure. If you want."

Kyouko's lips turned up into a smile. She tried to keep a straight face, but even despite the strange awkwardness of the situation, her heart fluttered in a disconcertingly erratic fashion that shortened her breath.

"Okay," she bit her lip. "You should probably get going back to Togami."

Naegi's heart sank. He normally didn't curse, but he was invariably in some deep shit.

"Right, yeah," his head spun with confusion. "I gotta go. Bye!"

He took off running down the hall, his brains a scrambled mess of teenage love, desperation, and impending doom at the hands of the sole heir to the Togami Conglomerate.

"Bye," whispered Kyouko, contemplating the flowers.

 

♥♡♥

 

An hour and a half later, a windswept Naegi arrived at Celestia Ludenberg's door with a modest dozen of red roses from a local florist. He had emptied the contents of his wallet and still the arrangement was pitiful in comparison to the elaborate confection Togami had ordered.

Gulping, he knocked.

A tenuous moment passed before a lithe pale figure donned in a black negligee and a silk kimono opened the door. Red eyes received him with a paralyzing glint.

"Yes?" came the acidic syrup of her voice.

"Miss Celestia," he blurted, jittering like a rabbit, "TogamiByakuya sendsyoutheseflowers as a gift of admiration andrequests that you willpleasemeethimfordinner at ninepm this Fridayevening outsideof the front gates oftheschool."

Celestia scoffed. She regarded the bouquet as she would a second-hand hand-me-down. Which, in a way, the simple roses were--for Kyouko had received the initial present, and Naegi's means to procure flowers were considerably second-rate.

"Does he?" she asked bitterly. A fiery pit of rage formed in her stomach; it coagulated like magma, and hardened just about the edges into a permanent basin from which volcanic hatred burned with a passion. "Tell him I accept."

"What?"

Celestia's words were delivered with a brutality that did not match their content.

"I accept, you dunce," she spat. "Surely you can convey that simple message to your master?"

She flashed him a pleasant smile.

"Thank you. Good night."

Unnerved, Naegi bowed and ran off.

_Shit._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys, i know it's been a while. a lot happened! May was my birthday month, i've been busy with work, read SDR2! and other such things, some fun some not. i appreciate you being patient and am so grateful that you're still interested and reading. i had some writer's block with this for a bit, and your comments are always so encouraging. xo
> 
> in other news, Togami's gonna be pissed.


	8. Interview With the Gambler

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Togami and Celestia go on a horror-themed date.

In a despair-filled world, school was likely the most vapid, torturous, and misery-inducing institution under the bright plasma sun. Enoshima Junko relished it, with that overwhelmingly pleasant feeling that could only be described as the fusion of love and hate at the same time, the beautiful paradox that fueled her. Despair brought her hope for more despair, which in turn did bring her despair, and thus, in a sense, more hope for her despair to bloom. It was lovely, like a continuously blooming and decaying flower on repeat.

Enoshima wished her sister could be as good at bringing despair to her friends as she was, but, alas, Ikusaba was such a disappointing older sister that her talents couldn't even come close.

The two were seated in their last class of the day and Enoshima pondered ways she could punish her sister.

"Ancient History. Ancient History, Mukuro. What is the point of such a pointless class? Did whoever named this course want it to be a joke? 'What are you learning?' Oh--it's Ancient History! 'Oh, yes, you take Important Events next year.'"

                Enoshima was talking to herself in the back of the classroom. She referenced Ikusaba, who sat beside her, flipping through a book; but she was talking to herself.

                "Didn't you say the other day that all classes were pointless?"

                "Yes, I did. And they are! But this one is… extra… pointlessly pointless!"

                She huffed.

                "Shut the fuck up, Mukuro! Since when did you become a smarty-pants shit-talker, huh? Don't fuck with me."

                "I wasn't making fun of you, sis. I just wanted you to know that I listened to what you said."

                "As if I should reward you for that. Good big sisters don't have to be told to listen to their little sisters."

                "Yes, Junko."

                Enoshima pulled on her ear.

                "Don't just 'Yes, Junko,' me like that!"

                "I wasn't!"

                "This isn't the military. You can't pacify me and think that's enough."

                "I didn't--"

                "Don't make that ugly face!"

                "I'm not making any--"

                "Your face is ugly!" Enoshima was pinching her older sister's cheeks, acrylic nails digging into the skin.

                "Ow! Ow, Junko, quit it! I can't do anything about my face, I'm sorry!"

                "You should be!" she tugged at Ikusaba's cheek with a ruthless shake.

                "Oww, stop!" tears were gathering at the corners of Ikusaba's eyes.

                "Upupupu. Upupu."

                Enoshima lifted Ikusaba's face to hers and pecked her on the cheek.

                "You're so cute for once, Muku! Look at your sad little puppy face."

                "I… why… Junko…"

                Ikusaba's cheek was red and hurting. She frowned. Her eyes hadn't cleared up. She watched her sister with a deep, ponderous dismay and confusion.

                "Upupu. I love seeing you despair like that, sis. Lemme take a picture."

                She pulled out her cell phone and was scrolling for the camera application when the teacher came in.

                "Phone away, Miss Enoshima," said the teacher over her shoulder.

                The model stuck her tongue out at her sister, who sat there bewildered.

♥♡♥

Celestia Ludenberg loved the rain. There was nothing more romantic. It made her think of a dark mansion on a hill, lightning in the sky, curtains of black laced tossed up by the wind; the montage of bats streaking across the front lawn to find shelter in a forgotten bell tower, the door to the stairwell locked without a key. She thought about travelers driving in old-fashioned cars up the dirt road to the slim wire gate, the gate creaking open supernaturally upon their arrival. The towering presence of the house filled with dark shadows.

Celestia relaxed in her carefully curated abode. Yanagi Masami had decorated the gambler's dorm room to perfection, and Arai Hitomi's hand-made custom garments hung in her wardrobe by color and style, inspiring within her loving adoration of such prized possessions.

She sighed as only a regal lady could sigh. She read _Interview with the Vampire_ and languidly sipped her royal milk tea. The nefarious Yamada Hifumi, who sat now salivating over an erotic manga in the corner, had grown better at retrieving her drink as she continued to whip him into shape, and this sample was just fine. Yanagi Masami was present, fixing the flower arrangement Togami had sent her with her own procured flowers and a decorative vase, so as to ease Celestia's nerves over the insult. Arai Hitomi sprawled her sketchbooks over the central table, scribbling away at a multitude of mini Celestia's in various ballgowns.

Celes' extravagant quiescence was devoid, of course, of any mundane homework so unworthy of a lady to spend her time on. She reminded herself to command Fujisaki to do it for her, when the phone rang.

The gothic queen regarded the device with aggravation. It was probably one of her useless lesser subjects asking an idiot question. She picked up the iPhone adorned with a case trimmed in black lace and red bows, Vivienne Westwood charms dangling from the slit in the corner.

Celestia Ludenberg always answered her cell phone with a description of her location as if she were picking up an old-fashioned, stationary receiver.

"Bonjour, Château Celestia?"

"Good, you're at home."

"Togami," she made a wry smile into the phone. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I was merely calling to extend my gratitude to you for attending my event. Your presence was a large help in the success of the evening, I assure you."

His voice was even haughtier on the phone, deepening and lilting over his words with a pompous bite. Celestia rolled her eyes.

"I am happy to be of service," she said, as coy and polite as possible. "It was an enchanting evening.”

"And you," there was a small pause, almost a gasp and at once a cough, like Togami had swallowed a bitter candy in surprise, "are an enchanting girl. Did you receive my flowers?"

Celestia spun around in her chair, stockinged legs crossed. Red eyes fell on Yanagi, who jumped with fright and continued amending the floral arrangement, adding strands of pearls and white roses to compliment the red.

"Yes, I did," she said with fire, her cheek burning against the phone. "How... thoughtful of you."

Togami seemed to relax, and this angered her more.

"I'm guessing they were to your satisfaction, as you consented to dine with me this Friday. Do you have preference for a location?"

 _Hmph_ , Celes scoffed _. He truly thinks so lowly of me as those pitiful red roses. And to ask a woman where she would like to go on a first date... classless._

"I am sure I shall be fine with whatever you choose."

_Of course, he would never have the sense to choose a stylish place like Vampire Cafe. I'll probably be taken to the most boring high-end restaurant in town, surrounded by elderly folk on the brink of death._

Togami sighed into the receiver.

"Yes, I hope so. All right. I will see you on Friday, then. Good bye."

"Au revoir," said Celes.

 _I will break his heart_ , she thought. _No one fucking insults me like that._

She mentally shoved Yasuhiro Taeko down, choosing her words more carefully.

 _And he will rue the day he crossed me_ , she corrected.

 

♥♡♥

Earlier in the morning, Naegi Makoto had an experience that he had never had before.

He was in Biology with Kirigiri, mooning at her shyly all throughout class.

The last time they had spoken they had made a promise to spend time with each other, and Naegi wanted that time to be spent soon. He blundered over asking for her number, wrestling with himself if he should or he shouldn't and how to be smooth about it, when, after the bell rang and before he could make a move, Kirigiri asked him for his.

 _Are all girls like this?_ he thought, but something told him it was just Kirigiri.

_I'm such a dork._

♥♡♥

Enoshima and Ikusaba scurried about town, flitting from shop to shop. Ikusaba kept up with her sister easily in pace yet not in direction, for Enoshima's wanderings seemed to be aimless yet determined. She picked up a haphazard array of items at each shop: hairspray; new lace panties; some pink cigarettes, which she smoked carelessly as they walked, because she could; markers and duct tape; a piece of pastry; socks; a hairbrush for Ikusaba, because, as Enoshima put it, the soldier's hair looked like a stray dog's; some breath mints and bubblegum and comic books. Each selection was made at a different convenience or department store, the order of choices making no sense as they trudged around town at a sickeningly erratic pace.

"Are you okay, Junko?" Ikusaba asked as the little shop bell rang, signaling their entry to yet another corner store.

"No, dear sister, I am not," said Enoshima, rifling through bags of different flavored chips and selecting one at random.

Ikusaba was stunned. This was not the response she was expecting. Her sister never spoke about her feelings unless she was angry, which was the frightful time when she made them all too clear.

Ikusaba gulped.

"What's... what's wrong?"

Enoshima stomped her foot.

"You, Mukuro!"

The dark-haired girl stepped back with a gasp.

"Wha--What? Why... what did I do, Junko?"

"Nothing!" Enoshima shrieked. "Nothing, that's what, you lazy bastard! It's been almost a month since school started and we've made hardly any progress with our despair plot!"

She seemed to stand up straighter and annunciate almost robotically.

"I compiled the statistics of our classmates. I devised a battle plan. I commanded you to strike. We did a bit of damage at that rich brat's sad excuse for a party. But there's hardly been any despair bred amongst the lovely children we attend class with."

Ikusaba was speechless.

"You've been following Kirigiri. Have you learned anything about her that's useful, hmm, you widdle disappointment?"

"Um... Junko," Ikusaba looked over her shoulder with shifty eyes, scanning the passersby in the shop and picking up on their puzzled and uncomfortable looks, "are you sure you aren't ill? Your manner of talking..."

Enoshima growled.

"What did I tell you about the fucking way I talk, Mukuro!? How many times must I drill it into your pathetic skull!? Just listen to what I say, not how I say it! Have you learned anything at all about that prissy bitch?"

Ikusaba sighed. There was no distracting or getting through to her sister when she was like this, rabid and frenzied and impossible to control. Enoshima's personality was shifting at a rapid degree, making even the soldier, who was so familiar with the deranged whims of her younger sister, uncomfortable and nervous.

Ikusaba reported her findings like a true soldier should.

"She wakes up at the same time every day, like clockwork, but she takes her time in getting to class, usually arriving right on the bell. She doesn't talk to anyone. In between classes she roams around... she's looking for something, I think... mostly around the staff building. In Biology she's started talking to one boy, I've seen him a lot with Togami and Hagakure; brown, messy hair..." Ikusaba tried to hide her blush. Enoshima absolutely could not know that she found this certain boy cute. "Um, and after class she goes to tennis practice..."

"Hm," Enoshima tapped her foot. She studied her sister's face, always knowing when Ikusaba was hiding something. She would have to look into this messy-haired boy later, and her stomach bubbled with jealousy. "Tennis, huh? I didn't think our scrawny detective friend would participate in team sports. But I guess tennis is kind of an uptight game, isn't it?"

Ikusaba had no response, but of course, Enoshima had no problem talking to herself.

"You might be onto something there, sis."

Enoshima suddenly grinned, baring her teeth through her red lipstick.

"I've never played tennis before!"

♥♡♥

Togami Byakuya dressed for dinner in a sharp black suit, red button-down shirt, and black satin tie. A red handkerchief peeked out from his jacket's breast pocket. His dress shoes were polished and neat.

Tonight he had a date with the queen of Hope's Peak's social proper and he must look the part of king.

Of course, he wasn't interested in her. He had no time for that. Courting her was simply a public relations move to cement his campaign for president of the Student Council, as having her at his side would only further enforce his inherent aura of royalty. She was respectful enough in her own right, even though he thought the student body's worship of her pedestrian. Together they would make a power couple impressive enough to hold dominion over the entirety of Hope's Peak.

Being Togami Byakuya, he would have no issues at all claiming his queen, despite what she may have drunkenly hurled at him at the party. And that was all it could be, he thought, as he tried his best to forgive her baseness: it could only be drunkenness, that she insulted him so.

He fidgeted with his tie and fluffed his bangs. He adjusted his glasses. But he wasn't nervous.

He could run business meetings; he could read and speak fluently not only in Japanese but in French and English; he could generate seventy million yen in the stock market in a single day; he could play the violin and the piano; he could recite several passages of Shakespeare; he had defeated and murdered all of his siblings to assume the legacy of the Togami family; he was aware he was visually quite pleasing to the opposite sex, and probably the same sex, too. He was the Ultimate Perfection.

But then there was that nasty habit he had, which he would never admit to himself: that he couldn't talk to people without insulting them. Consequently, he had never had many friends. And as far as romance went, well... he was familiar with the great loves in classical literature.

 _It's not important_ , Togami said to himself, reaching in his pocket for his cellphone to check the time. _None of this nonsense will be necessary to win her over. An expensive dinner should do it._

 _After she's fallen in love with me and I've become President_ \--he admired his own reflection-- _I'll leave her devastated and humiliated, and I'll have won._

♥♡♥

The stars were white, hollow holes in the cocoon of the blackened sky above Tokyo's Ginza district at the address of Togami’s chosen restaurant. The two traveled to the seventh floor of the urban building, Celes on Togami's arm in the image of traditional expectation.

The gambler was floored by view of lush red curtains that came into view as the elevator doors parted, and, of course, by the dismembered plastic foot on the floor by the host stand.

She lifted her eyes to view the letterhead of the restaurant beneath curled black lashes.

_Vampire... Cafe? How... How did he know about this place?_

Her eyes widened at the site of the establishment, and she did her best to correct her expression and regain her cold countenance immediately.

_Of course, he just picked it because of its exclusive reputation..._

"I have heard that this restaurant's the newest and classiest in town. I, personally, find the vampire gimmick trite, but I thought this would be a suitable place for a date."

Celes gritted her teeth.

_Ignorant, style-less peasant..._

"Yes," she composed herself, "I have heard the same."

They crossed the threshold and a ghoulish scream echoed across the floor, followed by classic horror movie laughter and the ringing of clock tower bells.

"Welcome!" drawled a large man in a Dracula costume, accent thick and theatrical as he beckoned them in with the wings of his cape.

Togami snarled.

"Was that necessary?" he grumbled, signaling for the hostess’ attention.

"I found it amusing," said Celes nonchalantly, though inside her stomach was doing cartwheels with excitement.

Since Vampire Cafe opened it had been the epitome of Celestia's dreams. And now she was here, on a first date with a rich, beautiful boy--

_Wait, where the hell did that come from?_

Yes, Togami was rich. That was probably his best quality. He was stuffy, overcompensating, dry, unimaginative; but he smelled liked freshly minted paper, and that scent would draw Celes from anywhere.

He was arrogant and obnoxious, yet, she supposed, looked well enough to perhaps become one of her vampire servants one day when she finally owned her grand European mansion. But to be king to her queen--well, the right gentleman would need an S-Rank for that.

If she were generous, Togami Byakuya was pushing a B-Plus.

She pulled her shawl around her, pinching at the soft black knit with painted fingernails, and faked a shiver.

A young girl in a French maid's costume with small pointed fangs peeking out over her bottom lip approached the stand. There were many couples standing about waiting for a table, and Celes sighed with discontent.

"Togami, party of two," said the heir, hardly bothering to look at the hostess.

"Right this way, Mr. Togami," replied the girl with a bow, ushering them into a dark lounge littered with candles, heavy velvet curtains draping the walls in a fitting noir backdrop.

Wooden coffins covered in faux dust and spiderwebs served as statues in proud display. Celes' eyes were alight as they stepped through the row of private booths arranged like traditional Catholic confessionals, her heart swooning with fantasy and glamour.

Togami was entirely disinterested aside from the obsessive thought of whether or not Celes was impressed with the swiftness with which he commanded a table in the busy restaurant. He turned to her and watched her pretty face--

 _Ugh, what an unpleasant thought_ , he paused.

To his delight, her smoky eyes were twinkling and his chest puffed out with pride. He had clearly done well in choosing this location to ensnare her eccentric personality, and he could put up with the ridiculous showiness of the popular lounge if it meant hooking and reeling her in.

He knew he would get his way, and, like a spoilt child, he relished in his success.

The couple was seated in their own booth, chiffon curtains partially drawn for privacy, which, Togami noted with satisfaction, was quite a plus, and, if he were honest, quite a nice touch on the part of the establishment. Before them was a curious display of a coffin-shaped drink menu, the dinner menu in the form of the Holy Bible, and a small golden bell with which to summon the help.

It was a bit exciting, Togami shuddered to think, set to the tune of gothic classical music. He shook the feeling off. He sat back in his chair, settling into the soft velvet cushion. He crossed his legs. He cursed himself as he cursed Celestia Ludenberg and the fact that he had to be seen at such a self-indulgent place regardless of its esteemed repute.

For one moment Celestia and Togami caught each other's eye. There was a mix of approval and revulsion on each of their faces, and they coughed simultaneously, opening the drink menu and selecting the stiffest flowery concoction on the list.

♥♡♥

Naegi Makoto sat staring at his cellphone with a sullen pout on his face. He continually swiped the screen upwards and downwards, clicking on Kirigiri’s name and then clicking away from it.

He laid on his bed and rolled over onto his back, resting the phone on his tummy and sighing. He thought about her pretty violet hair and her pretty eyes. He thought about the math test he had early next week. He thought about trying some of Hagakure’s weed. He thought about his parents at home in their kitchen, happily ruminating on the fact that their son was attending the prestigious institution of Hope’s Peak Academy.

 _That’s right_ , he thought. _I have to do my best here._

Naegi covered his face with his hands, groaning out loud.

_But why do I keep applying that to girls!?_

Kirigiri Kyouko, of course, was not just a girl. She was **the** girl. He cursed himself mentally for even thinking such thoughts.

_All right, Makoto. You’re not one to ever give up!_

‘Hey, Kirigiri,’ he typed, ‘do you want to meet me for coffee tomorrow?’

_Augh… how lame can I be…?_

Ding!

‘All right. I know the perfect place.’

♥♡♥

Their first course arrived in front of them with the graceful swoop of careful hands and a deft delivery of a second round of drinks.

"Well," said Celes with a polite cough. "We haven't talked much since we arrived. I must say, you've done an excellent job in selecting a location. I'm quite a fan of _Interview With the Vampire_."

Togami grumbled.

"It's all right. It's been a while since I've read that book."

"Oh?" Celes asked. "You've read it?"

Togami eyed her with derision.

 "Yes, of course. I read quite a bit of literature in my spare time."

 "One would think you hadn't much spare time."

 "In the sense of idle time, no. I am always doing something. I couldn't bear it if I weren't; and it would hardly be allowed."

 "Oh?" was Celestia's coy reply. "And who tells Togami Byakuya what he can and can't do?"

 "The stock market. Phone calls. Meetings. Other business demands."

  _My father_ , he thought, though those words would never dare pass his lips.

 Togami drew his drink, the glowing green 'Nosferatu,' to his mouth and sipped a crushing gulp of hard black vodka.

"I don't have the luxury to sit around playing card games. That must be good fun."

 _I will hurt this boy_ , Celestia’s thought was a clear response. She didn't question herself; she knew there wasn't a soul who could speak to her in such a way and get away with it. _I will hurt him… do things to him…_

"Card games?" Celes' eyelashes fluttered, not in flirtation, but with pure inability to control her blinking. She took a bite of her food and dabbed at her mouth.

       "It's hardly a game when your fortune is on the line. Or your life."

       "Must you resort to being so outrageous to defend your profession?"

       "It's not an exaggeration, I assure you. Gratuitous winnings come at a gratuitous price. One billion yen for my head, once."

       Togami laughed, but Celestia kept a straight face, her eyes focused and lips downturned, deadly serious.

       "You of all people should know it's not a joke. How much have you risked on the stock market? You can't tell me that it's not the same."

       She sat back, hands in her lap.

       "We are very similar."

       Togami thought about wringing her neck right there; the porcelain witch practicing her dark arts on him as though he were a deck of cards. How dare she. He continued to chew his food, struggling to keep back words.

       He resorted to alcohol to sedate him, and fortunately the place was liberal with the amount they lent in their drinks. He pushed back his glasses with his index finger, never fully averting his gaze from his opponent.

       It wasn't a date, they were both realizing at the same time; it was a fencing match, and they had both hoped to take their rival off guard with that fact.

       All that had taken them off guard, however, was the terrible truth that beneath the heated exchanges, each participant was enjoying themselves. Perhaps it was how well-matched they were; the fear of losing; the fun of it. It didn’t matter. This was time well spent.

       Insults punctuated with pointed bites of food; sips of liquor transitioned between strikes.

       Togami contrived a piercing look meant to bruise Celestia's cheek but instead rerouted the blood to his own heart, and he chewed the inside of his mouth like a stubborn child, attempting to will the odd sensation away.

        _Butterflies_ , thought Togami. _Disgusting insects._

        _This is ridiculous_ , Celes sighed, practically rolling her eyes at herself as she took in some more of her delicious _'_ Dracula,' a rainbow of seven different types of alcohol mixed with deep red cranberry juice. She looked up and around and away from the despicable individual seated in front of herself. _These butterflies--_

        _\--have got to be slaughtered_.

♥♡♥

       Ikusaba laid in bed with Enoshima. They were in her little sister's dorm, of course, as that was Enoshima's domain and the model was ever more reluctant to leave her hideout.

       Ikusaba had brought her own pillow with her and arrived in plaid pajama bottoms and a button down top. Enoshima lay on her stomach, reading a fashion magazine. Ikusaba lay on her side, gazing at Enoshima.

       "Honestly, Mukuro, why are you here?" Enoshima asked in an acidic tone, picking her head up from the magazine to stare wildly at her sister. "Go back to your own fucking room."

       "I don't want to," said Ikusaba,

       The soldier rarely defied her commanding sister. In this case, though, Enoshima was being silly. They always shared a bed at the orphanage, and in the streets, and then in their foster parents' house (which got them in quite a bit of trouble). They had even shared a womb, after all. That's what it was like being twins.

       "Ugh. Fine."

       Enoshima got tired of reading and started manically flipping the pages of the magazine, looking only at the pictures.

       "Hey, Junko, go back for a second," Ikusaba said, her curiousity piqued by familiar blue eyes gazing at her from the catalog.

       "What?"

       "I saw something about two pages back."

       "What the hell, Mukuro?"

       "Please look?"

       Enoshima huffed and flipped back two pages. It was a picture of herself, in a campaign she had done for Jeremy Scott.

       "You're in this one," said Ikusaba, simply studying the picture.

       "Duh. I remember taking the fucking photo."

       "Why didn't you want to look at it, then? Aren't you curious how it came out?"

       "No, dammit. I was sure it looked great or they would've made me take more fucking pictures."

       "It doesn't seem like you wanted to see it, is all. You skipped it really fast."

       "Yeah, well, I don't like to look at myself sometimes," Enoshima continued skimming the pages with carelessness.

In her mind’s eye she saw vague images of her own reflection. It seemed to always be a different person she saw in the mirror, but always still Junko, and the effect of this on her personal identity was fascinating.

She hummed happily to herself and wiggled her feet, thinking about more things in one second than most could in five.

Ikusaba thought her sister's comment strange, but didn't say anything. Enoshima loved looking at herself. She loved the title of Super High School Level Fashion Girl, after all, even though it wasn't her true title. It was Ikusaba she didn't like looking at.

The thought of how disappointing her sister thought she was flooded Ikusaba’s mind. The feeling of the warm bed, the blankets, every sensation of being in her body faded away to make room for the despair.

♥♡♥

Time seemed to slow as the two wealthy young students pushed the remnants of their desert around on their plates. They had ordered ‘The Sweet Coffin of Burnt Decay,’ and the chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream once encased in a white chocolate coffin had long since been eaten and leftovers melted away.

While the desert itself was satisfying, Togami bristled. He was supposed to be closing the deal on the date and yet the object of his affections had done nothing but parry and block him at every turn.

He also hadn’t been very romantic, he realized with a dull sourness in his mouth, and he blocked out the niggling thoughts that he had absolutely no knowledge whatsoever on the subject of women.

_Perhaps asking her about herself will improve her disposition._

"You speak so heavily about your lifestyle. Tell me, then, what makes it so difficult,” he said curiously.

There it was again, the derision he didn’t **fully** mean, and the responding look, retracted in a half of a second, of pure hatred from Celestia. He was impressed with how quickly she composed herself; and, in fact, displeased with himself and how little self control he had over his manners.

“Gambling is a fickle thing. No matter how confident you are, or how much strategy you know, whether or not you make the right move, there’s still luck to contend with, and luck is brutal, and impartial, and harsh. My luck just so happens to be very good, same as my lies, and my mind is sharp to details. I find it very easy to pick up on personal ticks of other gamblers, to play the table as much as the cards in that type of environment. In other situations I must rely on different skills. Every game has its own tricks.”

Togami resisted the urge to say that exactly what she was revealing was what made gambling silly, and instead relented to letting her continue.

She sighed, her voice rumbling in her throat in almost a purr.

“But, it is also nerve-wracking to take such huge risks when you come from nothing. It’s not just what you stand to lose that makes you sick, but what you stand to gain,” Celestia eyed Togami with what she thought was a coquettish gaze. “But, I suppose, coming from wealth such as you have, you wouldn’t know much about the pain of want.”

Togami’s heart did a backflip, and his blood instantly ran cold and then hot, rage forming like magma.

“You don’t know anything about my life,” he growled.

The heir’s reaction was so intense that Celestia flinched.

“E-Excuse me?” she asked timidly.

“You think the Togami fortune was just handed to me? That the Conglomerate accepted me as their new emperor merely on my birthright?”

His eyes were wild, and heat rose to his cheeks as he realized that their surrounding company might hear the tone in his voice.

“There were others who qualified for my position, bloodthirsty siblings who wanted the title perhaps even more than I. I had to fight them, and winning was the most difficult thing I have ever done in my life. The losers faced expulsion from the family; effective murder, in that their existence has been erased from the Togami name and network.”

The gambler’s eyes were wide with shock.

"You're not the only one who's made sacrifices. Next time think before you speak."

Celes' skin burned. She was embarrassed and infuriated, with herself over her uneducated remarks and with him for the garish story he had just delivered to her like a blow to the face. She glared daggers, her anger swollen and vicious. He returned her stare, gulping down some more of the toxic green confection of a drink.

"It might be time to leave," said Togami, standing up with his palms on the table and the clink of silver echoing on his now empty dish.

His chest caught at the feeling of swarms of beady eyes on his back as their fellow patrons all glanced toward their booth. Celestia's laugh at his folly came with such joy he wanted nothing more than to squish it like a bug.

"Yes," she spat behind her white silk gloves, loving to think she once again had the upper hand as she got up and smoothed down her dress. "You have absolutely had too much to drink."

Togami’s eyebrows were already raised in anger and to his immense surprise his mind had gone blank, his tongue dull and his throat bland. No disparaging retort came to his aid.

       He merely slid the seat back beneath the table and signed the check, disposing of the checkbook on the table like a piece of trash. He started after his date and stood by her side in the elevator.

       "That dinner was quite pleasant," said Celes.

       "Is there a reason you must speak at this moment?"

       "Oh, elevators, someone must always break the silence, and it might as well be me, as clearly you are not in the right state of mind."

       "Spare me the pleasantries."

       The floors ticked down. Ding.

       "The braised duck was quite good."

       Ding.

       "Hm, a bit overcooked if you ask me; they could have done with less butter on the vegetables as well."

       Ding.

       "Well, you don't eat much."

       Ding.

       "It is ungentlemanly to eat."

       Ding.

       "That is nonsense."

       Ding.

       "Let me rephrase that: it is ungentlemanly to eat among filthy peasants."

       Ding.

       "In that case, you are correct. It is similarly unladylike, yet certain measures must be taken to ensure posterity. Eating among them breeds loyalty."

       Ding.

       "Duly noted, perhaps I should consider dining with my cohorts after all; though not in the slums of that cafeteria."

       Ding.

       "And it would not be such a pleasant dinner as with I."

       Ding.

       "Of course, none shall match your delightful company."

       His sarcasm was dire, and the elevator dinged again.

       "Oh, you've got a bit of asparagus on your tie."

       Ding.

       "Ah--"

       "I'll get it--"

       Ding. Thirteen floors down.

       "I assure you, it is fine."

       Ding.

       A handkerchief was taken out of a suit pocket at the same time as out of a small pocketbook.

       Ding. Ding. Ding.

       "This elevator is simply infuriating."

       "--Where is it? I don't see--"

       "We're alone in here as well, hm…"

       "--With how much this suit cost--"

       Celes grabbed onto Togami's tie and pulled him into a kiss. She did not know what possessed her to do it; but she pretended to herself that it was an intentional maneuver, and, as always, she believed herself.

 Togami was honestly more distressed about the hypothetical asparagus shard on his tie, and it took him several moments of neurotic fretting to realize that he was kissing Celestia. He swore to himself he didn't care; that this was just a strategic move; that she was playing right into his hands, but the small winged insects were back with a flutter in his stomach, gusts pumping blood to his heart.

 Celes told herself she planned it, but her foot popped just so like in all the movies, and if she told herself she planned it, then she may as well have planned it; for it was the nature of the Queen of Lies that what she decided became true.

       It was also true that the bells had stopped chiming; that the elevator had reached the ground floor and Celestia Ludenberg and Togami Byakuya were still locking lips, kiss having grown to one with tongues much less sharp than when they use them to speak, and that several pairs of eyes were now on them. If there had been a spot of sauce, or a piece of asparagus, or some stray liquid on Togami's tie it was now undeniably squished onto Celestia's dress, as they were pressed together, breathing in the other's expensive cologne.

       The two finally broke apart at the cue of a woman clicking her tongue and another gentleman coughing pointedly, a small gasp releasing from each of their lungs.

       They stood looking at each other, eyes dissecting eyes; strictly blue and red with no expression allowed beyond their walls.

       Togami and Celes didn't say anything, but walked briskly out of the elevator and to the limo.

Togami opened the door, and directed Celestia in with his hand before sidling in after her. The couple sat beside each other, but with a discreet distance apart. The rain began to fall, light and neat, and they said nothing for the rest of the ride home; and nothing when they parted, except for goodnight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kyyyaaaahhh i know it's been a while! please don't kill me guys! life's been busy and i've been doing a lot of projects!
> 
> i haven't lost interest in this one, though, and i hope you guys haven't either! your continued reviews and faves and support really makes a huge difference in me keeping this story going! you guys are the best! xoxxo
> 
> i hope i didn't disappoint with this chapter!
> 
> also, a few quick notes:
> 
> 1\. thankyou to my amazing betas, my good friend James and my girl Dixxy :) thankyouthankyouthankyou
> 
> 2\. thankyou to my dear friend Jess for her review of Vampire Cafe that i used to help construct the scene of the date. oh, are you surprised? yes, Vampire Cafe is a real place. It does in fact exist in the Ginza district in Japan, and it does in fact have the cheesy decor and menu that Celes and Toges experience here.
> 
> 3\. the line about butterflies being slaughtered was borrowed from a similar one in season one of Gossip Girl, since i thought it was too perfect and i couldn't resist. :P
> 
> thanks again guys! xoxxo


	9. Better Off Expelled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asahina and Hagakure vandalize some of Hope's Peak Academy's top of the line facilities while Naegi and Kirigiri meet for coffee.

**_Late into Friday Night, or Early into Saturday Morning Thereof, Exact Time Unknown._ **

Celestia Ludenberg lay still, her porcelain skin perfectly doll-like in color and form against the expensive silk of the black sheets that dressed her bed, the sharp contrast aiding in conveying her fragility. None would know of the anxiety that coursed through her quiet body, as she kept her appearance a perfect facade, even when alone. Her eyes were closed, yet her delicate eyelids twitched. The satin eye-mask she wore to sleep was pushed up above her eyes and stuck to her forehead. Thin fingers rested neatly spread at the top corner of the mattress, near to the desk that was currently serving as a bedside table and upon which sat her cellphone.

She waited expectantly for the phone to trill and chime as a result of the scandalous information she had posted on Hope’s Peak Academy’s private Facebook (sometimes affectionately called HopeBook by the student body), for she knew it would draw a delicious response.

The information was as follows.

One, next weekend she would be having a party. A dress-to-impress, open bar, superbly chic and inexplicably adult party at a nearby casino where she was a known and respected high-roller. Individual invitations would be handed out in person by her minions, of course; but the masses must know of the party’s coming, so that they could gossip about it, and obsess and fixate on it, and so that her fellow students could writhe in pain as they waited to discover whether or not they would receive an invite.

Celes wanted this party to be the most talked about event on Hope’s Peak’s campus, beating out Togami Byakuya’s soiree with merciless ease. It would be the first big party of the year, for none would remember the heir’s gathering after her impressive and marvelous affair.

Two, she was now officially dating said social opponent, Togami Byakuya.

 

♥♡♥

 

There was no one Enoshima Junko hated more at Hope's Peak Academy than Kirigiri Kyouko.

Enoshima hated Kirigiri because, as the Super High School Level Detective, there was no one more impartial. Even Kirigiri's color scheme was impartial, her not white or not lavender, but mystically silver hair; purple-hued jackets and sweaters paired with ambivalently grey skirts. The way Kirigiri flitted about in the shadows, despite the fact that the entire school knew that her father was the headmaster. The way her chiseled expression conveyed nothing of hope or despair of any kind.

The detective moved behind the scenes, and therefore Enoshima could never make a show of her.

And for this defiance, Enoshima hated her.

But that would change, for the world was destined to be Enoshima Junko's plaything, and no one else was allowed to do as they pleased, lest they tarnish her unique and captivating vision where all were doomed to suffered on her cue. Enoshima desired a world where everything was decorated with beautiful, riveting despair rising in frightening crescendo, and she would be damned before a prissy brat took that away from her.

The doors opened into another of Hope's Peak's sprawling, lavish yards, complete with a football field circumscribed by a pristine track and several tennis courts. One such court caged the shadow girl, Kirigiri Kyouko, her hair pulled into a ponytail, slim body donned in a brand new polo and tennis shoes.

Super High School Level Fashion Girl Enoshima Junko bounded onto the court in her tennis uniform, fluffy pigtails floating alongside her like clouds above her visor.

"No fear, Enoshima Junko is here!" she grinned, prancing up to a group of girls who crowded around the benches tightening their shoelaces and putting on their gloves.

"I'm a teensy bit late, but you can understand that, right, coach? Let's get to whacking that tennis ball! I'm so pumped, I could crack a thousand of 'em!"

 _Preferably at someone's face_ , she thought, but her sweetened smile betrayed naught a sliver of that thought.

"Warm-ups are first, Miss Enoshima," said Coach Hiroaka. "We begin practice with stretches and a jog around the school building."

"Eh? No hitting things yet? What do I have this for, then?" Enoshima twirled around a bright pink tennis racquet, almost smacking the girl who stood beside her.

"If you don't warm up, you'll injure yourself," said the coach.

"Oh!" Enoshima grinned straight at the silver-haired girl, whose lips were pursed in a straight line, indifferent as always. "Can't risk messing up this beautiful face of mine!"

Throughout the unfolding scene Kirigiri Kyouko was silent. She knew of the Super High School Level Fashion Girl from class, of course, but had not come much into contact with her. It was very apparent to the detective's deductive mind, however, that this energetic girl was not what she seemed. In fact, her gut told her that Enoshima Junko was the exact **opposite** of what she seemed. If she were the reverse of empty-headed, that made her sharp-minded. If she were the reverse of careless, that made her calculating. If she were the reverse of ditsy and harmless, then she was outright dangerous. These deductions made Kirigiri Kyouko the sole person closest to discovering, though she wasn't quite sure yet, that Enoshima Junko was actually the Super High School Level Analyst--and a mind like that was something to be feared.

 _She chose a perfect cover_ , thought Kirigiri, who dutifully took off into a jog with the rest of her teammates, watching as Enoshima's hair whipped in the wind.

_It looks like there's someone else I have to keep my eye on._

The detective was well in shape, routinely going on runs to keep her physique as trained and tamed as her mind, which she tested on puzzles and unsolved cases in her spare time. She quickly caught up to Enoshima, who, if she was struggling with the pace, showed no hint of it in the wild grin that donned her red lips.

“This is fun, huh?” asked Enoshima through her perfectly white teeth, gliding across the grass with ease.

Kirigiri cast her a glance and didn’t say anything. Her mind was working as she ran, going over all the data she had been compiling on her classmates and her father. Strange things were going on in the Seventy-eighth class. If a Super High School Level Analyst was part of that group, such an individual would be sure to be causing trouble. Perhaps even at the root of the trouble. Perhaps she was even directing others to cause trouble for her. _Perhaps…_

“What do you know about Ikusaba Mukuro?”

The question was pointed and sharp, and Kirigiri knew from the sudden look of shock on Enoshima’s face the moment she uttered it that she was correct.

“Oof!”

Enoshima cried out as she fell forward and crashed into the grass, Kirigiri leaving her behind as she sprinted on ahead.

So the blonde avoided the question, and left things all too obvious for the Super High School Level Detective to put together.

 

♥♡♥

 

Asahina Aoi wandered into the laundry room half dressed. It was eight o’clock on Saturday morning and no one was awake. It was the time she always did her laundry, week after week, after her morning run. Back in her dorm she had stripped off her sweaty clothes and socks, thrown them into the laundry basket and slipped on a loose tank top and a pair of boxer shorts she always slept in. She shuffled off to the laundry room with the pitter patter of slippers on tile.

Undeniably, the Super High School Level Swimmer was stressed. Exercise had burnt off some of the lump of anxiety in her stomach, but she remained uncomfortable and nervous. She never could have imagined the pressure she would be under upon coming to Hope's Peak. Training had never been anything but a breeze; meets were barely stimulating. If not for her burning desire to push herself beyond all human limits as an athlete, she would have been bored. But she was older now, and her opponents tougher, and competing in the Olympics was something she couldn't even imagine.

The thoughts made her dizzy, and after loading the washing machine she sat down.

Yawning, Asahina picked up a magazine. A familiar face beamed inauthentically from the cover. It kind of gave her the creeps. She thought about how strange photographs were; and how strange film was. And listening to your own recorded voice when you programmed your answering machine. It was an out of body experience, watching and hearing yourself in third person, as a spectator.

What weird thoughts. Her blood sugar was probably low, she concluded. She should eat some donuts.

She jumped up out of her seat as the door whipped open. A mop of billowing jacket and loose dreads wandered in. Hagakure Yasuhiro.

"'Eeey, Hina!" His voice wavered into a friendly lilt, but she could tell he was disappointed. "Didn't think anyone would be in here."

He noticed her rolled up boxers revealing a hint of her behind and his eyes lit up.

"Ah, maybe not the worst thing--"

Asahina scoffed.

"You're gross. What are you doing up this early?"

"I have uh--er," he snapped his fingers as if trying to recall that himself, "a, um, business meeting. I'm very professional. It's at nine. Or ten. Or eleven. One of those."

Asahina rolled her eyes.

"A business meeting? Get real."

"It's true! Toges' got some master plan or something. Me and Naegi gotta listen to it. What a jerk, making us meet up at three different hours on Saturday! He's not right in the head."

Asahina listened to Hagakure with complete disinterest.

"Cool story. Either way, I told you not to talk to me. So, why are you in here, other than to **creep** on me?" She hoped he would get the hint and leave, seeing as he had no laundry to do other than the clothes he was wearing.

_He... wouldn't do that, would he?_

"Hey!" It finally dawned on her. "You were gonna smoke in here, huh!? What the heck!?"

"Come on, this room has great ventilation!"

"Seriously, how do they not catch you!?"

Hagakure thought about it for a moment but couldn't come up with an answer.

"I think I'm allowed to do it since it helps me with my super talent. Gets me in the zone."

"No way do they just allow you to smoke up in school."

"That is the nature of the occult," he said, arms folded and nodding in affirmation.

"I thought you said the occult was bogus?"

"Exactly--that's why it's unbelievable."

Asahina sighed.

"Well, I'm not gonna let you do drugs in here. I'm not getting in trouble."

"Aw, man! I don't get why you're so uptight about it. Well, I guess I'll just hang out with you a bit, then."

He pulled a folding chair out from the table. It creaked as he settled into it.

"What! No!"

Asahina's cheeks turned red as she realized how under-dressed she was, and she awkwardly unrolled her boxer shorts to try and cover up more of her butt. She crossed her arms and bristled, wishing she had her track jacket to zip up into.

"Why not? I need something to do before my meeting."

Hagakure leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on the table. Asahina clenched her fists and stared him down, willing him to get up and walk away with all of her brain power.

"Come on!" Hagakure pleaded, scratching at his ear. He closed his eyes and whistled for a bit. "I'm great to hang out with."

Asahina dropped her defense. She knew it was useless to put up a fight when the clairvoyant was obviously too dense to listen to reason.

"Okay, then. I guess I could use some company," she pouted, reaching for the back of the chair she had been sitting in.

Hagakure grinned.

"All right!"

It was then that the washer exploded.

Blue water spewed out from the corners of the hatch, bubbles erupting in white foam like a famous wave crashing in the Pacific Ocean. The hatch door rattled and bounced up and down before blowing open.

Asahina skidded forward along with the chair she held onto and Hagakure jumped out of his seat.

"What the crap!?"

"Quick, blow it out!"

"It's not a fire!"

"Turn it off!"

"Okay!"

Asahina threw herself at the machine and pounded the OFF button.

"It's not working!"

She whacked it multiple times. Water and bubbles splashed all down her front.

"It's possessed by a ghost! It's gonna spit out purple slime!"

"Not all over my clothes! Fix this!" she turned frantically to Hagakure who was holding his head and screaming.

"You're a boy!"

"That means I don't know any better!"

"Honestly, how useless can you be!?"

Getting drenched in water, Asahina leaned over the washing machine and continued tinkering with the buttons, trying anything she could to make the madness stop. Soap suds bubbled and burst, the girl wiping her mouth with wet arms to wash away the detergent.

"Ugh! Yuck!" she whined as she continued her button mashing. "It's no use! This damn thing's completely busted!"

"Dude, we're gonna be completely busted! Everyone's gonna think I broke it! This is all your fault!" cried Hagakure.

"It was an accident! Augh, what do we do!? Should we go get a janitor?"

Hagakure waved his hands in front of his face frantically.

"Nuh-uh, no way! We gotta handle this on our own. Let me think."

Asahina sighed.

"Oh boy, if it's left to your pea-sized brain then we're definitely screwed."

"I got it! Okay, there are some trash bags in the cabinet, right? How about you grab your clothes and put 'em in a trash bag, and we'll haul it up to your room and leave it in your shower until the laundry's fixed. Then nobody will ever know we were here!"

Asahina surveyed the damage, water hopelessly spilling over the side of the machine and spreading further across the tiled floor.

She bit her lip. The plan was dangerous, no doubt, as anyone could spot them as they headed back to her dorm. She was, however, luckily on a lower floor and therefore they didn't have very far to go. She looked at the clock. Others would definitely be up and about soon.

"It looks like we have no choice. Okay, let's do it!"

Asahina opened the supply cabinet and grabbed a trash bag, handing it over to Hagakure.

"All right, hold this open for me while I put my clothes in."

"What!? But I'm gonna get soaked!"

"We're in this together now! Don't be unhelpful!"

Groaning, Hagakure consented, and Asahina began loading her clothes into the bag. She slipped on the wet tile, and Hagakure caught her, cheeks reddening a little as he helped to get her steady.

"Hey! Be careful! I don't need you to have a broken skull too!"

Though his face was still wracked with incredulity, he looked at her with a genuine concern that made her blush. His rough fingers were warm on her forearms, and she could barely process being so close to a boy along with everything that was happening.

The clothes Asahina held against her were sopping wet, and, suddenly and with gusto, she began to laugh.

"This is such a total mess," she chuckled, and Hagakure joined in, though his laugh was a bit more confused and nervous than the swimmer's was.

For the first time since she had come to Hope's Peak, Asahina Aoi forgot about the pressure she was under. The absurdity of the incident created an unreality where she was free from regrets, and the plain white laundry room had become the colorful stage of a game. She picked up a shirt and playfully whipped Hagakure across the chest.

"Got you!"

He guffawed and made spitting noises as he tried to expel the soap that had sprayed into his mouth.

"Hey! That's not funny! This is my nice shirt!"

"That is a bummy tee shirt, you doofus!"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Hagakure called out as the hand that didn't hold the trash bag jolted up to block more swings.

Asahina giggled, her smile as wide as the ocean.

"Crazy girl!"

"Stupid butt!"

She whacked him again and again, swinging the wet shirt like a whip.

"Come on, cut it out!"

"Take this! And this! And that!"

Laughter rang out across the laundry room as the broken washer continued to gurgle, and Asahina felt better than she had in a long time. Hagakure felt assaulted and confused, but he couldn't deny the tickling in his belly at the sight of the pretty girl in front of him, and he hoped she hated him at least a little less now.

 

♥♡♥

 

Taking heavy breaths, Naegi slunk into the black leather settee that somehow fit itself into Togami's dorm room. He had overslept, and barely made it to his destination at the appointed time.

"Naegi. What did I tell you about when to arrive for meetings?"

Naegi shifted in his hoodie.

"Um, for parties, it's... at least ten minutes late and for meetings it's... um... earlier..."

"Yes," said Togami. "Fifteen minutes early is acceptable."

"S-Sorry..." said Naegi, scratching the side of his head. His ahoge bobbed in apology.

"Sorry I'm late," said Hagakure as he opened the door and flopped down on the settee beside Naegi. His tee shirt and button-up were soaking wet, but after a moment of blank staring, neither Naegi nor Togami decided to address it.

"I'm surrounded by idiots," muttered Togami as he handed Naegi and Hagakure each a manila folder.

"What's this?" Naegi asked.

"It is an outline detailing my campaign for the rest of the semester."

There was a folder left for Togami himself, and he opened it up to the first page, Naegi and Hagakure following suit like they were in a classroom and Togami was conducting lecture.

"Next week is the preliminary elections. We have to collect at least one hundred and fifty signatures in order to qualify, and from there will be a vote to determine the two primary candidates," Togami said as he closed the folder and tucked it underneath his arm. "There should be nomination sheets in each of your folders. I expect you to take these with you wherever you go. I have decided that I will award twelve thousand yen to whoever collects the most signatures as an incentive."

"Whoa! You're actually gonna pay us!?" Hagakure almost fell off his seat.

Togami glared at him.

"What do you think I am, cheap?"

"You said it," Hagakure whistled as he bobbed his head around, trying not to look Togami in the eyes.

"The point is, I need you fools to take this seriously. I'm not concerned about losing, of course; but regardless, the signatures are needed in order to move on, so you must acquire them."

Naegi covered his face with his folder as he yawned. Hagakure let out a fart.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly as Naegi scooted away from him.

"There are no words available in the human language to convey my absolute disgust," said Togami, eyes vacant with shock.

Hagakure merely chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

Naegi pulled out his phone and sighed. His date with Kirigiri was later this afternoon. His stomach was doing belly flops.

“Go on, get out of here,” Togami commanded, pulling Naegi out of his thoughts. “I no longer have need for you.”

The heir made for his desk, already pulling out his cell phone to make some business calls. Naegi and Hagakure looked at each other with a resigned confusion and rose to leave.

Just as they were disbanding, there was a sharp knock at the door.

Togami answered it with blatant annoyance, literally rolling his eyes as he came upon the visage of Ishimaru Kiyotaka, pristine and poised on the other side of the door.

"Good morning, classmates!" bellowed Ishimaru in his deep and hearty voice.

"I am standing two feet from you. Can you please speak like a domesticated human being?"

"Right!" Ishimaru shouted with a genuine smile. "It seems there was an incident in the laundry room earlier and I took it upon myself to search for the perpetrator!"

"I have nothing to do with it," said Hagakure, folding his arms across his soggy shirt.

"A washing machine exploded and flooded the entire laundry room. It appears that whoever caused the flood didn't bother to contact Maintenance and simply left the place a disaster."

"Yup, didn't do it," said Hagakure.

Togami made to close the door.

"You heard the man. He says he had nothing to do with it," said Togami plainly.

Naegi and Hagakure looked at each other again and silently agreed it was time to make an escape. They slunk past Ishimaru who looked frantically back and forth between their retreating forms and Togami's stern gaze.

"But you haven't answered any of my questions--!"

"Kindly remove yourself from my sight."

Togami shut the door in Ishimaru's face.

The hall monitor sighed. This was happening to him an awful lot lately.

 

♥♡♥

 

Later in the afternoon, Naegi Makoto stood in front of the dressing mirror in his dorm room, repeatedly knotting and unknotting his tie. No matter what he did, he couldn't get it to look right. Maybe it was his dress shirt that didn't fit him. Or perhaps he was having a bad hair day.

He nervously looked over to the pile of clothes in his hamper: his signature hoodie, some beat-up slacks, and dirty socks. Kirigiri had seen him in that outfit before, but he couldn't allow it again; not for a coffee date, especially.

_A date._

He fidgeted with his bangs.

_A date, a date, a date, a date, a date, a date, a date._

Was it a date? Or was it just a hang out? Did Super High School Level students 'hang out?' With Togami it was all 'business meetings' and 'soirees;' and Hagakure seemed to wreak havoc wherever he went, appearing and disappearing more than 'hanging out.'

What was he, Naegi Makoto, thinking that he could get along with these Ultimate students?

He frantically grabbed a lint roller and began rolling his pants. The slacks were similar to his others, inexpensive and casual--nowhere near as nice as the fancy pair Togami had bought for him, but he couldn't wear **those** to a coffee date. Maybe he could convince Togami to take him shopping again so that he could have a decent every-day wardrobe.

_A date, a date, a date, a date, a date, a date, a date._

Naegi looked at his phone. Ten minutes and he was supposed to meet Kirigiri at her dorm. He grabbed a sweater and pulled it over his shirt and tie. He slipped on his dress shoes--those should be okay, he figured. He didn't have any cologne, but he smelled his armpits, and convinced himself that he was in the clear.

_Okay, time to go--_

And he left the room, not realizing he had accidentally locked himself out.

 

♥♡♥

 

. _..This… isn’t a date_ , Naegi realized as he pouted before his disappointingly distasteful and overly expensive cup of coffee.

He slouched in the booth across from the beautiful and mysterious Kirigiri Kyouko, who seemed to be enjoying her Koffee Luwack just fine. To Naegi it tasted bitter and had emptied the contents of his wallet when he purchased a cup for each himself and Kirigiri, along with two blueberry scones to accompany the drink and a small package of mixed chocolates. But Kirigiri smiled, even hidden behind her gloved hands, and Naegi’s heart sank knowing her smile had nothing to do with his pleasant company.

All she had done since they arrived had been interrogate him about his experiences thus far at the Academy, and he had rapidly begun realizing that she was using him for information and not for partnership. He answered her questions anyway, with a heavy heart, never one to turn to meanness even when he was being mistreated himself.

“I see. So the headmaster gave you a second chance?” she asked, tapping on her mug.

“Yeah,” Naegi sighed, “he said that it was his idea to hold the draw for the super lucky student every year, and that he wasn’t willing to give up his experiment.”

Kirigiri raised an eyebrow.

“His experiment?”

Naegi could mentally see her scribbling away at a flip-top notebook.

“He didn’t go into any detail--in fact, he kinda laughed… weirdly… n-not that your da--I mean, not that the headmaster's weird or anything, but he just... cut himself off and told me that he shouldn’t have said anything about it.”

He hoped Kirigiri didn’t take offense to him calling her dad weird, but the female detective didn’t bat an eyelash.

“He really is careless, isn’t he? What a shame to the family name,” she grumbled, swallowing more of her coffee.

Naegi looked down at his own cup and blanched. He positively could not take another sip.

“So…” he trailed off, pushing his cup away from him.

She met his eyes. He noted she was both guarded and expectant, and once again he felt the weight of her boots press into his gut and her sharp stare cut away at his heartstrings.

But, ever the optimist, he reached deep inside him for a lazy smile and asked her why she chose this particular establishment for their meeting.

She seemed surprised, but answered him in turn.

“I like this cafe because it’s also a chocolate shop,” said Kirigiri, gloved fingers currently unwrapping a suitable such piece. “Whenever I feel like I’m losing energy I’ll suck on a piece of chocolate while drinking coffee. It’s proven to give you a short mental boost.”

She plopped the chocolate in her mouth just then and took a slurping sip of her coffee, momentarily relaxed purple eyes lingering on Naegi throughout the action.

He couldn’t help the grin that flashed across his face. He chuckled.

“That’s really cute.”

She froze.

“C-Cute..?”

Naegi’s chuckle broke off into nervous laughter and a cough.

“J-Just… the way you ate the chocolate just now… it was really cute…”

His face was completely red, as was Kirigiri’s, but she pulled herself together, lips pursed and uncomfortably self-conscious.

“I--I don’t know if you should be saying such things but… thanks…”

She stared out the window for a moment, tucking a stray piece of silver hair behind her ear and playing with the ribbon that adorned the single delicate braid she wore as part of her daily uniform.

“Speaking of… romantic… gestures… why did you bring me flowers?”

Kirigiri turned and pinned Naegi with her eyes once again.

The question struck him like a bullet through the heart and left him paralyzed. He felt heat on the back of his neck and ice cold in his chest, and he knew that Kirigiri Kyouko saw right through him as he failed to conceal his shock.

 _And she probably would have known, regardless,_ he was starting to realize.

After conversing with her for a half an hour or so and playing suspect to her inquiries, he was starting to understand that she figured out **everything** , understood and observed to a level that might even be called supernatural.

_I guess this is what they call Super High School Level talent…_

“W-Well, the flowers, I guess--I told you--I--”

“They weren’t for me,” said Kirigiri plainly.

Naegi let out a strangled gasp and mentally berated himself for it. He was an open book; but again, as he had come to realize, he could have been closed and locked and Kirigiri still would have found a key.

He searched her face for an emotion and couldn’t find one. Instead, he voiced some inferences of his own.

“You knew all along,” he said, both with reverence of her talent and still a hint of disbelief.

She propped her elbows on the table and leaned forward, resting her chin on folded hands.

“I did.”

Red-faced and humiliated, Naegi slumped against the booth, despair written all over his face. His heart was an indistinguishable pile of mush, other organs numb and seeming to have abandoned him, particularly his stomach, which he felt probably floundered pathetically at his feet.

“Don’t feel so badly about it,” said Kirigiri with a half-smile.

Naegi’s head perked up, surprised.

“What--?”

“You didn’t upset me, at least,” she said, closing her eyes for a moment and then glancing away.

Though she was opening up to him, her body language remained mysterious, and Naegi felt as though he watched her through a window, just a passenger catching glimpses of foreign scenery.

“I--I didn’t?” he asked, still nervous and feeling small and weak as the average schoolboy he knew he was.

“No,” she said, looking back to him. “I could tell that you wanted to give them to me.”

Her cheeks turned pink as she said it, again surprising him so much that his mouth formed a small ‘o’ and his own face reddened.

“But, let me guess--they were for Celestia, from Togami? You’re running errands for him, aren’t you?”

At this, Naegi grumbled a bit.

“W-Well, I’m his assistant--” he started, but realized how lame even that sounded. He sighed. “Yeah. I’m… basically his errand boy.”

But Kirigiri didn’t try to humiliate him further.

“Was he upset about the mishap?”

“Strangely, no. I’m guessing somehow he didn’t find out, especially since he and Celestia went on a date, which definitely wouldn’t have happened if either of them were mad.”

Kirigiri took a sip of her coffee and sat back with folded arms.

“You gave her a cheap bouquet from the corner store, instead,” she said, matter-of-factly.

Naegi blanched.

“Y-Yeah, that’s exactly what I did…” he started to chuckle, “I--I guess it worked, though, somehow…”

“Likely, Celestia took insult but consented to the date in order to get revenge. Do you know how the date went?”

“No, actually. Togami didn’t say. Crap--maybe I am in for it after all--”

“I think you’ll be all right,” said Kirigiri. “Those two seem like the type who would enjoy hating each other. If anything, you may have lit the very match that sparked their romance.”

“You think so? Wait--romance? Do you mean they’re dating now?”

Kirigiri merely tapped away at her phone and then held the screen out for Naegi to see.

“Your observation skills sure are dull. It’s been all over HopeBook.”

“Wow,” said Naegi, once again slumping into his seat. He pulled out his own phone and opened the Hope’s Peak Facebook app, seeing at once several threads about the new couple on campus. “I didn’t think you’d be the type to follow this kind of stuff.”

Kirigiri let out a small laugh.

“I like to know what’s going on.”

Naegi smiled. It was as though a weight was lifted off his shoulders with Kirigiri knowing about the flowers, and though he was embarrassed by how magnanimously he revealed himself to her, it seemed as though his vulnerability was helping her get comfortable with him. She knew he had nothing to hide, and so she could relax--and he was more than okay with that.

“So what else do you like?” Naegi asked, deciding to try out one of the chocolates with a sip of his coffee. He coughed a bit. The coffee was still disgusting, but luckily the dense chocolate lingered longer in his mouth than the beverage did.

“Huh?” Kirigiri was genuinely perplexed.

“I mean, like, your hobbies and stuff. What do you do in your spare time?”

Kirigiri blinked for a moment. In fact, she blinked several times. When was the last time she had been asked something like this? Usually she was the one asking the questions, and if not, she was merely reporting basic statistics about herself to those curious about the detective agency she belonged to and cases she had worked on in the past.

_Naegi Makoto…_

She studied his face, which had a pleasant shape and was lit up with genuine earnestness. The tips of his ears stuck out from beneath hopelessly shaggy hair, and his eyebrows were dangerously relaxed and gave his whole countenance a general vibe of peace and centeredness. His eyes were bright, and wide, and added to his overall cuteness--

Her cheeks turned pink and her posture stiffened. She noticed her heartbeat had picked up. Kirigiri Kyouko, who normally, in regards to anything other than the outcome of a mystery, **did not care** , suddenly felt as though she cared very much as to how the conversation continued, and she did not know what to do. Part of her wanted to keep smiling and laughing and talking about herself to someone who truly wanted to listen, and part of her told her she was letting her guard down far too low, and that the drawbridge must be hoisted up immediately.

“Uh, Kirigiri?” Naegi asked after she had been silent for about a minute and a half. “Are you okay?”

“I--I’m fine,” she said, combing her fingers through her hair as she tucked stray wisps back once again, all to no avail as the locks continued to fall forward and frame her face. “I--uh--well, investigating takes up most of my time. I’ve been working since I was a small child.”

“Oh, right--you said detective work was your family’s legacy, didn’t you?”

The girl’s eyes widened. She didn’t seem able to shake the blush that tinged her cheeks. He remembered that about her? She was sure she only vaguely mentioned it once…

“Y-Yes, that’s correct. I was raised by my grandfather, a true Kirigiri detective, and from the time I could sit on his knee I read case files with him instead of bedtime stories.”

“And you said your grandmother named you, right? You must really love your grandparents. It sounds like they love you a lot, too.”

Her grandparents: her one weakness. This boy was absolutely a problem. She had to get out of this situation immediately.

“Yeah, we’re close,” she said, words strung together quickly. She swallowed. “Well, I had tennis practice earlier today and never got a chance to work on any homework, so I’ve got to get going--”

“Oh,” said Naegi, disappointment evident in his voice. The conversation had just picked up a natural flow, and he didn’t want her to leave. “Yeah--yeah, I have homework, too. Do you want me to walk you back to--”

“No, no, it’s okay,” Kirigiri said, getting up and smoothing down her skirt. She shrugged on a light parka and slung her book bag over her shoulder. “I have some errands to run before I go back to the dorms. I’ll see you around.”

With a whisk of silver hair fluttering and disappearing like a ghost, she was gone.

Naegi Makoto put his head down on the cafe table and sighed.

_What ever did happen to my luck? Ugh..._

 

♥♡♥

 

_...Ugh… I truly do… have the worst luck of all…_

Naegi stood with his forehead pressed to his dorm room door, in a similar position as he was when he had such similar thoughts only an hour or so before.

His door was locked. He patted his pockets again and again and there was absolutely no key to be found. He must have left it in his nervousness to meet Kirigiri, and he could see it now, in his mind’s eye, resting precariously on the edge of his dresser.

Naegi pondered his options. He supposed since it was a weekend he would have to go to the Campus Security office and get an officer to let him in. He was tired and didn’t want to walk all the way there, but any other option, such as trying to find Hagakure and maybe hanging out for a while, would just delay the inevitable of him having to get back into his own room at the end of it.

Uncharacteristically, he pounded on the door with both fists, enduring a twinge of despair. He thought things had gone pretty well with Kirigiri, at least until she left in a sudden hurry--but what would it matter if he was expelled for failing to maintain his talent? He was a loser. A total failure.

“Ugh! I’m so dumb!” Naegi grunted, pounding the door again with both fists.

“You sure are!” came a bubbly voice from somewhere behind, above, or beside him--he couldn’t tell--for it echoed eerily and made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

Naegi whipped around and pressed his back to the door.

“Upupu. Upupupu. Did I scare you?”

Leaning against the hallway wall was a long, slender girl with impressive tufts of strawberry blonde hair that spilled from her head at all angles. Naegi knew her from class and by appearance only: the Super High School Level Fashion Girl.

“Enoshima Junko!” she squealed, and then laughed at herself, as if her name held some joke in it and Naegi was supposed to know what it was.

“E-Enoshima… hi,” said Naegi meekly. For some reason, he was a bit afraid. “I’m Nae--”

“I know who **you** are!” she was suddenly in front of him and bent over to look him in the eye, as she was much taller than he was. “Naegi Makoto! Super High School Level Luck!”

She babbled these exclamations off as a child who was proud to correctly identify a person for the first time.

“Y-Yeah, that’s right…” he said, finding himself fumbling with the door handle as if he could open it and escape inside, though he knew it was--

“Locked?” asked Enoshima, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.

Naegi gulped.

“Yeah… I forgot my key when I left to meet a friend earlier.”

“Upupu. Upupupu,” Enoshima laughed, again as though Naegi should have been in on the joke; though he wasn’t, and no laughter came from his lips.

“What--what is it?” he asked.

“Upupu. It’s just so funny, isn’t it? You’re locked out of your room like a total loser--but you’re supposed to have super duper good luck!”

Naegi blanched.

“Yeah, I guess it is--it **would** \--be funny, maybe, if I wasn’t going to be expelled over it.”

“Expelled?” Enoshima Junko’s tone of voice changed completely. “They’d fuckin’ expel you over something as lame as that shit?”

“Y-Yeah, I guess, if I don’t represent my talent I can’t attend the school…”

“You don’t say?” Enoshima asked, her shoulders held up higher and her posture straighter as she put a finger to her temple. “Well, I suppose that makes sense. Hope’s Peak Academy does have a reputation to uphold, after all. The hope of the nation’s future. What a remarkably **stupid** sentiment.”

“Uh--excuse me?”

“Upupu. Upupupu,” the girl laughed, having returned to her original, cheery personality. “Well, you better hope you get lucky pretty soon, Mr. Makoto! Bye bye!”

She disappeared around the corner, and, unnerved, Naegi made for the Campus Security office, walking in the opposite direction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *coughs and hacks loudly*  
> well it's been 7 months *cough cough hack hack*
> 
> you all probably hate me but you know  
> life and shit happened  
> i struggled getting back into this  
> BUT HERE YOU HAVE CHAPTER 9!  
> and i feel a renewed interest in this story so hopefully updates will come more often now and in the future!
> 
> thankyou so much to  
> A) anyone who bothered to read this huge long fic/chapter  
> B) anyone who's stuck with this story from the beginning and still reads it  
> C) anyone who's just picked this up and enjoyed it! THANKYOU!
> 
> also thankyou to my betas, James and Dixxy. :)
> 
> comments are VERY MUCH appreciated!  
> xo C


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